Members of Parliament from the Opposition parties, particularly from the INDIA bloc, staged a protest outside Parliament on Friday against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, alleging it was an attack on democracy. The MPs, including top leaders from Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Trinamool Congress Party, Samajwadi Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Rashtriya Janata Dal, and the Left parties, assembled outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament, raising slogans like “Save democracy” and “Stop vote-bandi”.
The MPs held huge banners reading: ‘SIR – Loktantra par Vaar,’ emphasising their stance against the SIR drive.
They demanded the rollback of the Election Commission’s voter roll revision in Bihar, citing concerns over potential disenfranchisement of weaker sections.
The protest also disrupted the proceedings in both houses of Parliament. The Lok Sabha was adjourned till 2 pm, while the Rajya Sabha was adjourned till noon, and then for the day. The opposition MPs continued their protests, submitting that the SIR drive was aimed at snatching away the voting rights of the marginalised communities.
The INDIA bloc has been consistently protesting against the SIR drive, alleging it was being used selectively and disproportionately, potentially leading to large-scale voter list deletions. The Election Commission has defended the drive, stating it aims to ensure accurate and updated voter rolls.