Rahul-led Oppn MPs continue stir in Parliament complex, dump SIR placards in bin

New Delhi: Shouting slogans and symbolically tearing placards with Special Intensive Revision (SIR) printed on them, Opposition MPs led by the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday continued their protest in the Parliament House complex against the electoral roll review in Bihar.

Holding a large banner carrying a slogan in Hindi which described SIR as an ‘attack on democracy’, the Opposition MPs, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Gaurav Gogoi, gathered outside Parliament and alleged that the Election Commission of India’s SIR was aimed at denying electors their right to cast votes.

As part of their symbolic protest, the protesting MPs took turns to tear red placards with ‘SIR’ written on them and dumped them in a makeshift dustbin placed in front of the protest site at Makar Dwar, an act symbolising rejection of the SIR exercise, which is nearing completion in the election-bound state.

The protesters shouted slogans: “Stop vote-bandi” and “Save democracy”.

Priyanka Gandhi hit out at the denial of information to the Opposition. “It is a transparent democracy. Why are they not providing the information that we are seeking?”

Congress MP Manish Tewari said that by creating completely new electoral rolls, the ECI is saying that the previous voters’ lists, which were used during the Lok Sabha elections, were erroneous.

“Which law permits such a revision by the ECI?” he asked, slamming the de novo preparation of Bihar’s electoral rolls.

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav said, “We will fight such a strong battle, with the blessings and support of the people, and in Parliament, that the government or the Commission will be forced to withdraw this decision.”

Lok Sabha Congress MP Hibi Eden said, “This is not just a demand of the Congress, but of the entire Opposition. We are holding an issue-based protest. We have made a united demand on this matter, which is extremely important and deserves serious discussion. There is a need to reconsider and withdraw the SIR.”

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose said, “We are opposing the SIR both inside and outside the House. The manner in which the ECI has implemented SIR is depriving thousands of people of their right to vote, especially common citizens, daily wage workers, and migrant labourers who move across states for employment.”

Till Thursday, the ECI claimed that 99 per cent of the nearly 7.89 crore electors in Bihar have been covered under the ongoing SIR exercise.

So far, 21.6 lakh deceased electors have been reported, while 31.5 lakh have permanently migrated. Another seven lakh electors were found to be enrolled in more than one location, and one lakh were marked untraceable, the ECI said.

–IANS