Opposition MPs protest against SIR, 'vote theft' in Parliament complex

Several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties held a protest in the Parliament House complex on Friday against the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar electoral rolls and alleged poll rigging that they dubbed as "vote theft".

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, TMC's Abhishek Banerjee, as well as other opposition MPs from DMK and Left parties, gathered near Parliament's Makar Dwar. They held posters and raised slogans, demanding a rollback of the SIR.

This was the 13th day of the protest, with the opposition only skipping it on Monday in view of the demise of former Jharkhand chief minister Shibu Soren.

A banner in front of the protesting MPs read "Our Vote. Our Right. Our Fight". Another banner carried by the protesting MPs read "SIR - Silent Invisible Rigging".

The MPs also carried "Stop SIR" placards along with posters alleging collusion between the EC and the government.

Several MPs also carried posters and placards alleging "vote theft", alluding to the poll rigging claims made by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi at a press conference on Thursday.

The opposition has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the SIR, alleging that the EC's exercise is aimed at "disenfranchising voters" in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections due later this year. They have been demanding a discussion on the issue in both Houses.

There has been a logjam in Parliament over the SIR in Bihar. Barring discussions on Operation Sindoor in the two Houses, Parliament has seen little business ever since the Monsoon session began on July 21 due to repeated adjournments, mostly over the SIR issue.