New Delhi [India], July 24 : Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday alleged more than 56 lakh voters are being removed from the voter list in Bihar after the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision and termed it an "attack" on democracy.
He also reiterated the demand of the opposition for a discussion on the exercise in the Parliament.
"The INDIA bloc wants the Parliament to discuss the SIR issue because more than 56 lakh voters are being removed from the electoral roll. This is an attack on the democracy and the election process itself. The EC has become an agent of the BJP. As Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi has said, We want a discussion in the Parliament, but the government is not conceding to any kind of demands on the SIR," Tagore told ANI.
Meanwhile, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday warned of boycotting the upcoming Bihar elections if it is not rolled back.
Addressing media personnel, Yadav said, "When everything had been decided from before that the names of lakhs of people would be deleted from the voter's list, and when these same voters voted for PM Modi in the past and decided the fate of the government in the past, then it was all right. We are asking how the sudden need for SIR arose now. It means that the people in power are acknowledging that they came to power through deception earlier, and now the same thing will be repeated. When they have decided to be dishonest, then we (all parties in the Mahagathbandhan) could talk about boycotting the elections. We have this option."Opposition leaders on Thursday held a protest in front of the Bihar Assembly over the issue of the SIR exercise.
The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) MPs, for the fourth consecutive day, protested against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) being conducted by the Election Commission (EC) in poll-bound Bihar. The MPs gathered at Parliament Makar Dwar and called for a stop to the exercise.
The opposition parties have repeatedly called for a discussion in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha regarding the revision exercise, moving adjournment motions every day since the start of the monsoon session and alleging that manipulation of voter rolls is taking place under the guise of the SIR.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji, Deputy Opposition leader in Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJ) MP Manoj Jha, among multiple other leaders, attended the protest.
Carrying a banner which read "SIR-Attack on Democracy," the MPs stood at Makar Dwar, demanding that the voter list revision be halted.
Bihar elections are expected to be held later this year, in October or November; however, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not announced an official date.