For the fourth consecutive day, Members of Parliament from the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) gathered at Parliament’s Makar Dwar to protest the Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in poll-bound Bihar.
Holding banners that read “SIR – Attack on Democracy,” MPs from Congress, JMM, Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD, and others demanded an immediate halt to the voter list revision exercise, which they allege is being used to manipulate electoral rolls and disenfranchise voters.
Senior opposition leaders including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, JMM MP Mahua Maji, Deputy LoP in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, and RJD MP Manoj Jha led the protest.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore submitted an adjournment motion in the Lok Sabha, describing the SIR as an “act of mass disenfranchisement” and likening it to “institutional voter cleansing” allegedly orchestrated under the Modi government. He also called it a betrayal of Babasaheb Ambedkar’s legacy of universal adult franchise.
Similar concerns were raised in the Rajya Sabha, where multiple opposition MPs — including Rajani Ashokrao Patil, Jebi Mather, Ranjeet Ranjan, Neeraj Dangi, and Akhilesh Prasad Singh — moved adjournment motions, demanding the suspension of Zero Hour and Question Hour to discuss the SIR.
Rajani Patil, in her motion, warned that the revision exercise in Bihar and reports of similar efforts in West Bengal and other states raise “grave apprehensions about potential electoral manipulation,” citing past concerns from Maharashtra’s 2024 assembly polls.
Meanwhile in Bihar, RJD leader and Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav hinted at the possibility of a poll boycott and stated he would consult alliance partners on the issue.
The opposition maintains that the SIR is being weaponised to selectively delete voters — particularly from marginalized and migrant communities — ahead of upcoming elections.
