logo
Oppn MPs tear, throw 'SIR' posters in bin as symbolic rejection of exercise

Oppn MPs tear, throw 'SIR' posters in bin as symbolic rejection of exercise

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi, on Friday held an unusual protest in Parliament House complex against the voter roll revision in Bihar by tearing posters with 'SIR' written on them and putting them in a 'disposal bin'.
They also staged a protest march in Parliament House complex, demanding the rollback as well as a discussion on the issue in both houses.
Ahead of the start of the day's proceedings, several MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, Samajwadi Party, TMC, RJD and Left parties, carried out a protest march with the banner 'SIR- Loktantra par Var'.
Then in front of the Makar Dwar steps, a bin was placed and one by one the opposition leaders, including Kharge and Gandhi, tore the poster with SIR written on it and put it in the bin as a symbolic rejection of the exercise.
The MPs also raised slogans like "Save democracy" and "Stop vote-bandi".
The opposition has been protesting in both houses of Parliament against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging the EC's exercise was aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Debate on Operation Sindoor: Opposition running away from discussion, says Kiren Rijiju
Debate on Operation Sindoor: Opposition running away from discussion, says Kiren Rijiju

The Hindu

time13 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Debate on Operation Sindoor: Opposition running away from discussion, says Kiren Rijiju

The government on Monday (July 28, 2025) accused the Opposition of "betrayal" by not allowing the scheduled debate in the Lok Sabha on the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters that a few minutes before the discussion was to start, the Opposition wanted the government to give an assurance that it will allow a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar after the discussion of Operation Sindoor is over. Parliament Monsoon session LIVE Day 6 The Opposition, he said, is running away from a discussion on Operation Sindoor after initial agreement and is now putting preconditions. Mr. Rijiju said Parliament runs in accordance with rules and accused the Opposition of going back on its commitment and betraying everyone. "The Opposition is looking at ways to run away from the debate on Operation Sindoor," he said. 'When Pakistan crossed red lines, terror camps faced fire' Earlier as the Lok Sabha takes up discussion on Operation Sindoor, Mr. Rijiju said 'When Pakistan crossed the red lines drawn by India, terror camps faced the fire.' 'Discussion on #OperationSindoor to begin today... When Ravan crossed the Laxman Rekha, Lanka burned. When Pakistan crossed the red lines drawn by India, terrorist camps faced the fire,' Mr. Rijiju said in a post on X. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is set to initiate the 'special discussion on India's strong, successful and decisive 'Operation Sindoor' in response to the terror attack in Pahalgam'. An aggressive Opposition is expected to corner the government over U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that he mediated to avert a nuclear war between India and Pakistan, and got them to agree on a 'ceasefire'. India has made it clear that the cessation of firing and military activity targeted at Pakistan was paused after 'direct contact' between the directors general of military operations (DGMOs) of both nations, at the instance of Islamabad.

Bihar SIR: Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale slams electoral roll revision; claims 1.26 crore voters 'deleted'
Bihar SIR: Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale slams electoral roll revision; claims 1.26 crore voters 'deleted'

The Hindu

time13 minutes ago

  • The Hindu

Bihar SIR: Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale slams electoral roll revision; claims 1.26 crore voters 'deleted'

Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale on Monday (July 27, 2025) said 1.26 crore voters have been "deleted" from Bihar's electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and challenged the government to a debate on the issue in Parliament. Bihar SIR row hearing LIVE: Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi to hear the matter Sharing the Election Commission's SIR data in a post on X, Mr. Gokhale said the poll panel "conveniently" did not share any information regarding its claim of having found foreign nationals in Bihar. Parliament Monsoon session LIVE Day 6: Both houses adjourn second time amid continuing Opposition protests As the month-long first phase of the SIR has concluded, the EC on Sunday (July 27, 2025) said that enumeration forms from 7.24 crore or 91.69% of voters of the State have been received. It also said 36 lakh people were found to have either permanently shifted from their previous addresses or were not found. It pointed out that seven lakh Bihar voters were found to have enrolled themselves at multiple places. "ECI has deleted 1.26 crore voters in Bihar from the 2024 Lok Sabha voter list overnight," Mr. Gokhale, the TMC Rajya Sabha MP, said on X. Calling the details revealed by the EC "bizarre", Mr. Gokhale pointed out that of a total of 7.90 crore voters, forms have been collected from only 91.69% — 7.24 crore voters. "This means that forms were not collected from 65 lakh voters and they will be deleted. About 22 lakh voters (2.83%) have been deleted because they're claimed to be deceased, about 36 lakh voters (4.59%) have been deleted because they're claimed to be untraceable, and about 7 lakh voters (0.89%) claimed to be found as duplicate entries so half i.e. 3.5 lakh entries deleted," he said. Bihar SIR: 91.69% have submitted enumeration forms, says Election Commission of India "ECI has conveniently not disclosed how many voters were found to be non-citizens of India. This is important because ECI had claimed that the SIR was being done to 'remove illegal immigrants'," Mr. Gokhale said. EC sources had earlier said their field-level functionaries found "a large number of people" from Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar during house-to-house visits made for the ongoing intensive review of the voters' list in Bihar. Mr. Gokhale further said the names "deleted" were on the voters' list in the last Lok Sabha polls. "A total of 1.26 crore voters in Bihar, whose names were on the Lok Sabha 2024 voter list just one year ago, have been deleted from the new voter list," he said. SIR of electoral rolls is 'impractical and filled with irregularities': suggest citizen's panel after public hearing in Patna "To give you a comparable idea, the number of deleted voters in Bihar during the current SIR is equal to the entire combined population of Uttarakhand plus Himachal Pradesh or the entire combined population of all six States of the North-East (excluding Assam)," he said. He said EC needed to answer some questions "urgently". "The voter list was revised by the ECI before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. How on earth did 1.26 crore voters become ineligible in just one year?" he said. "How many voters has the ECI been unable to reach for collecting their forms? Under the rules of SIR, those whose forms were not collected will be deleted. Therefore, what is the total number of voters whose names have been deleted only because their forms were not collected?" he questioned. He said the EC has not collected documents along with the forms from all 7.24 crore voters. "Does this mean that more voters will be deleted if their documents have not been collected with their forms?" He reiterated West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's statement that the SIR exercise "is NRC by the back door." "ECI had claimed 'removing foreigners from the voter list' as one of the reasons for conducting this SIR. Why has the ECI not disclosed how many actual 'foreigners' were found and deleted from the voter list during this SIR?" he said. "It makes zero sense that 12 million people in Bihar have become 'ineligible' voters in just one year between the 2024 Lok Sabha elections till date... When 12 million people in a single State lose the right to vote overnight, it is a serious issue," he said. He added that the Opposition MPs have been pressing for a debate on the issue. "Why is the Modi Government so scared to have an open discussion on this in Parliament?" he added. Meanwhile, the EC has asserted that no names will be deleted from draft rolls without following due process.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store