New Delhi [India], August 1 : Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Friday moved an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission of India in Bihar ahead of the Assembly election.
Submitted the adjournment motion, Manickam Tagore sought an emergency discussion on SIR, describing it as "mass disenfranchisement of 65 lakh voters in Bihar - deliberate assault on the constitution and democracy by the Modi government using the Election Commission."
Calling the Election Commission a "tool" of the BJP government and "enabler of electoral apartheid," Tagore urged the house to be adjourned and take up the discussion.
"Urgently take up discussion on the shocking and deliberate removal of over 65 lakh voters in Bihar by the Election Commission at the behest of the Modi Government, amounting to a direct assault on India's democracy, the Constitution, and the legacy of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar."
"The Election Commission, which was once an independent guardian of free and fair elections, has today become a tool in the hands of the ruling regime-acting as an enabler of electoral apartheid." He added.
The Congress MP alleged that SIR is "state-sponsored voter suppression," targeting the poor, Dalits, OBCs, minorities, migrant workers, and youth in Bihar.
"The official confirmation of 65 lakh voter deletions in a single state, Bihar, is not mere revision. It is state-sponsored voter suppression-targeting the poor, Dalits, OBCs, minorities, migrant workers, and youth. These are not errors; these are acts of political cleansing-executed in the name of "Special Intensive Revision" (SIRs) to selectively erase the democratic voice of the most vulnerable," he said in the motion.
"This is Manuwadi fascism in action-silencing the backward and empowering the powerful. The intention is clear: to rig the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections and the future Lok Sabha Elections by excluding lakhs of poor voices," he added.
Members of Parliament from the INDIA bloc parties will protest in front of Makkar Dawar in Parliament on Friday at 10.30 am, demanding a discussion in both Houses on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
On Thursday, the INDIA bloc parties, in a unanimous decision at their meeting, resolved to intensify their protests against the ongoing SIR both inside and outside Parliament.
The INDIA bloc's protest comes as the Election Commission is scheduled to publish the draft electoral rolls of Bihar on Friday.