Old guard Shivanand Tiwari gives dharna advise to Rahul, Tejashwi during Bihar Bandh stir

Patna: Amid the Bihar Bandh called by the Opposition against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list just ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, RJD National Vice-President and Lalu Yadav’s close aide Shivanand Tiwari has given a significant suggestion to Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

The protest, spearheaded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and other alliance partners, is aimed at halting the ongoing voter list verification process, which Opposition leaders fear is designed to disenfranchise voters from marginalised communities.

“I have a humble suggestion for both of them. If both of you reach the gate of the Election Commission, then sit on a dharna there. If the police stop you on the way, sit on a dharna wherever you are stopped. If the police detain you, do not take bail. If this happens, the atmosphere of the country will change,” Tiwari advised.

Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram said that Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has always stood on the streets whenever the country has faced a crisis, and that the current voter list verification drive is a direct attack on democracy and constitutional rights.

“Today, there is a crisis in democracy — the conspiracy of the vote ban is in front of us. We are strongly opposing this, and our leader Rahul Gandhi himself has come to stand with us in this fight. This is not just a movement, it is a resolution to protect the constitutional rights of the ordinary people,” Rajesh Ram said.

The Opposition has been raising its concern over the process in which 78 million voters would have to establish they are genuine citizens in a matter of weeks. According to the Congress, in a state like Bihar where poverty and low educational levels result in poor awareness on documentation, nearly 30 million voters would have to provide 11 documents, rather than the commonly available ration cards, Aadhaar cards or voter IDs to prove their citizenship.

During the Bihar Bandh, Mahagathbandhan leaders led by LoP Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav are conducting a protest march from Income Tax roundabout to the Chief Electoral Officer’s office, where they plan to gherao the office.

The Opposition has demanded that the voter list revision process be postponed until after the Assembly elections to prevent potential misuse.

Before LoP Gandhi’s visit, the Congress had put up posters with his image across major intersections in Patna.

The Grand Alliance argues that the requirement of 11 specific documents for voter verification could lead to the exclusion of crores of poor and marginalised voters from the rolls, calling it a direct violation of democratic rights.

The Election Commission, meanwhile, continues with the SIR process, while the ruling NDA has termed the Opposition’s protest politically motivated ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

–IANS