INDIA Bloc Parties To Continue Protest Against SIR; To Hold March To EC Office: Sources

The INDIA bloc is prioritizing protests against Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging potential disenfranchisement of vulnerable citizens.

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Source : TWITTER

INDIA bloc parties will continue their protests inside and outside Parliament on the SIR issue, and are also discussing the option to hold a march to the Election Commission headquarters next week, sources said.  The issue was discussed in a meeting of the INDIA bloc on Thursday morning.  According to the sources, the opposition parties agreed that the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is the priority for them in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament, and also demanded a discussion.

They also said INDIA bloc leaders are planning to hold a march to the Election Commission's office in the coming week.  A senior opposition leader said it was one of the best meetings of the INDIA bloc, where all parties were on the same page.  Another opposition leader said that the MPs discussed holding campaigns to make people aware of the issue, by using terms like "votebandi", "vote-chori" (vote-theft), and "vote ki loot" for the exercise, which seeks people to submit documents "establishing their citizenship of India".   Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, TMC's Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien, DMK leaders T R Baalu and Triuchi Siva, Samajwadi Party leader Ramgopal Yadav, NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule, Raja Ram Singh of the CPI(ML) Liberation, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, and CPI's P Sandosh Kumar were among the leaders who attended the meeting.  Last week, TMC leader Derek O'Brien had said that the opposition parties will discuss the option of organising a ‘gherao’ of the poll authority's office.

Both Houses of Parliament have seen protests by opposition members against the ongoing voters' roll revision, with both Houses witnessing multiple adjournments through the session so far.  Opposition parties have alleged that the exercise would lead to disenfranchisement of many, mostly from the poor sections, who may not have the documents that the EC is demanding. 

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)