Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Sharad Pawar, marched from Parliament to the Election Commission to protest the voter roll revision in Bihar, alleging “vote theft.” Wearing white caps marked “vote chori,” they were stopped by police at Transport Bhawan amid heavy barricading and raised slogans against the EC.
Rahul Gandhi during the protest outside the Parliament. Pic/PTI
The situation in the political spectrum of the country has remained cluttered since the day Rahul Gandhi claimed voter list manipulation. After Rahul Gandhi’s ‘vote chori’ claims, the opposition has been on fire against the Election Commission and the ruling party. On Monday, opposition MPs, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Sharad Pawar, took out a march from Parliament House to the Election Commission headquarters to protest against the voter roll revision in Bihar. However, they were stopped by police midway at Transport Bhawan.
The protest, wearing white caps with a red cross on the words 'SIR' and 'vote chori', the protesting MPs raised slogans against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar while carrying placards and banners.
As reported by the news agency PTI, the opposition MPs, before embarking on the protest march at Parliament's Makar Dwar, sang the national anthem. Police had made elaborate arrangements and placed barricades next to the Transport Bhawan on Parliament Street to stop the protesting MPs from moving forward.
The police administration had also asked the MPs not to proceed further and made an announcement through a loudspeaker. The situation was taken under control as the opposition MPs were prevented from moving forward to the Election Commission headquarters, a short distance from the Parliament House.
Some of the noticeable opposition MPs who participated in the march were T R Baalu (DMK), Sanjay Raut (SS-UBT), Derek O'Brien (TMC), Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav, as well as other MPs from opposition parties like the DMK, the RJD, and Left parties.
During the protest, TMC MPs Mahua Moitra and Sushmita Dev and Congress' Sanjana Jatav and Jothimani even climbed the barricades at Transport Bhawan and raised slogans against the EC when they were prevented from moving forward by the police.
Furthermore, a banner in front of the protesting MPs read "SIR + Vote Theft = Murder of Democracy". While another banner carried by the protesting MPs read "SIR – Loktantra Par Vaar".
The MPs also carried "SIR par chuppi Kyu" placards along with posters alleging collusion between the EC and the government.
As per the news agency PTI, several opposition MPs also carried posters and placards alleging "vote theft", a charge made out by Rahul Gandhi but denied by the EC.
The opposition has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging that the EC's exercise is intended to "disenfranchise voters" in Bihar in anticipation of the assembly elections scheduled for later this year. The issue has been the subject of their demands for a discussion in both Houses.
Since the monsoon session of Parliament commenced on July 21, there has been a logjam in Parliament regarding the SIR in Bihar, and both houses have experienced frequent disruptions since then.
The Parliament has conducted minimal discussions since the Monsoon session commenced on July 21, except for discussions on Operation Sindoor in the two Houses. This is primarily due to the numerous adjournments, which have been primarily related to the SIR issue.
(With inputs from PTI)
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