New Delhi, Aug 11: Opposition MPs, including Leaders of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, took out a protest march on Monday from Parliament House to the Election Commission against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and alleged “vote chori” but were stopped midway by the police and detained amid high drama.
Police put up barricades outside PTI Building on the way to prevent the MPs, protesting the voter roll revision in Bihar and the alleged poll rigging, from marching forward. As the MPs were stopped, many of them sat on the road and raised slogans while some women MPs, including saree-clad TMC’s Mahua Moitra and the Congress’ Sanjana Jatav and Jothimani, climbed the barricading and raised slogans against the EC.
They were later whisked away by police in buses lined up along the road and taken to the Parliament Street Police Station. All the MPs were later released.
“This fight is not political, but it is aimed at saving the Constitution. This fight is for ‘one man, one vote’ and we want a clean, pure voter list,” Rahul Gandhi said as he was being taken away in a bus after being detained.
“They cannot talk as the truth is before the entire nation….,” he said.
TMC’s Moitra and Mitali Bag also fainted during the protest and were helped by Rahul Gandhi.
Kharge, who was also detained from outside the PTI building, said the protest against ‘vote chori’ and SIR is a fight to protect people’s right to vote and a struggle to save democracy and the INDIA bloc will expose this BJP’s conspiracy.
In a post on X, he said, “BJP’s cowardly dictatorship will not work!”.
“This is a fight to protect the people’s right to vote. This is a struggle to save democracy,” he said.
“The allies of the INDIA bloc will surely expose this BJP conspiracy to shred the Constitution,” Kharge said in his post in Hindi.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh alleged that democracy was being “assaulted and murdered” right outside Parliament, as opposition MPs were stopped from taking out their protest march to the Election Commission office.
“Our demand from the EC was very clear, all opposition MPs are staging a peaceful march, at the end of the march, collectively, we wish to present a memorandum on SIR and other issues, we didn’t ask for a delegation. The language was clear, collectively, all opposition MPs would like to handover a memorandum to the EC. Now we are not allowed to even reach Nirvachan Sadan, we are stopped at PTI building. Right in front of Parliament, democracy is being assaulted, democracy murdered. This is too clever, cheeky reply by the ECI,” he said.
“Chunav Aayog is Chunav Aayog, it cannot be churao aayog,” Ramesh told PTI.
Wearing white caps with a red cross on the words ‘SIR’ and “vote chori”, the protesting MPs started their march from Parliament’s Makar Dwar raising slogans against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar and “vote chori” while carrying placards and banners.
Before embarking on the protest march, they sang the national anthem at Parliament’s Makar Dwar.
Police had made elaborate arrangements and placed barricades outside the PTI building on Parliament street to stop the protesting MPs from moving forward.
The police asked the MPs not to proceed further and made announcement through a loudspeaker that only 30 people are allowed and they should send their representatives forward, as they were prevented from moving forward to the Election Commission headquarters, a short distance from Parliament House.
Prominent among those who participated in the march were NCP-SP’s Sharad Pawar, T R Baalu (DMK), Sanjay Raut (SS-UBT), Derek O’Brien (TMC), Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Samajwadi Party’s Akhilesh Yadav, as well as other MPs from opposition parties like the DMK, the RJD, Left parties.
AAP leaders, including Sanjay Singh, also took part in the protest march.
TMC MPs Mahua Moitra, Sagarika Ghose and Sushmita Dev and Congress’ Sanjana Jatav, Jothimani climbed the barricades outside the PTI building and raised slogans against the EC when they were prevented from moving forward by the police. SP’s Akhilesh Yadav also climbed the barricade in a bid to breach the police cordon and raised slogans against SIR.
A banner in front of the protesting MPs read “SIR+Vote Theft=Murder of Democracy”. Another banner carried by the protesting MPs read “SIR – Loktantra Par Vaar”.
The MPs also carried “SIR par chuppi Kyu” placards along with posters alleging collusion between the EC and the government.
Several MPs also carried posters and placards alleging “vote theft”, a charge made out by Rahul Gandhi but denied by the EC.
Congress leader Ramesh earlier wrote to the Election Commission to allow them to hold a meeting with them and discuss the SIR, among other issues.
Informing the EC about their march, Ramesh in a letter to the EC said, “thereafter, the MPs wish to collectively meet with the Commission on a host of issues including but not limited to Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls being undertaken in Bihar and proposed to be undertaken in other states as well”.
“We look forward to meeting with the Commission which will be in keeping with the highest tradition of our parliamentary democracy,” he also said.
The opposition has been protesting in both House 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. (PTI)
