BJP MP Sambit Patra on Monday lashed out at the Congress party and its allies in the INDIA bloc for their continued protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging that their opposition was aimed at “saving infiltrators.”
Speaking to ANI, Patra said, “The entire country is watching how the Congress and Opposition parties are obstructing Parliament over the SIR issue and Bihar elections. The only intention behind this is to protect infiltrators.”
Defending the Election Commission’s role, Patra termed the revision process a routine responsibility meant to eliminate illegal voters from the rolls.
“Infiltrators have no right to vote. Congress has always relied on them to win elections and has promoted the politics of appeasement,” he alleged.
His remarks came as INDIA bloc leaders — including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, Abhishek Banerjee, and Kanimozhi — staged fresh protests inside Parliament premises. The Opposition has labelled the SIR exercise as “Silent Invisible Rigging”, accusing the BJP and the Election Commission of attempting “vote theft” in poll-bound Bihar.
The Election Commission, however, clarified on Sunday that the allegations were unfounded and even asked Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi to submit a signed affidavit with evidence supporting his claims.
Despite this, Opposition protests have persisted since the start of the monsoon session on July 21, with treasury benches counter-accusing them of deliberately stalling parliamentary proceedings.
