The Opposition stuck to its guns against the Election Commission on Thursday, with MPS staging a protest for the fourth consecutive day in Parliament and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi declaring that the poll panel would not “get away” with what it was doing in the name of revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
"It is a very serious matter,” Rahul, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, told reporters on the Parliament premises. “The Election Commission is not functioning as the Election Commission of India. Today, they have made some statement…. This is complete nonsense. The fact of the matter is the Election Commission is not doing its job. Now, we have concrete, 100 per cent proof of the Election Commission allowing cheating in a seat in Karnataka.
“We just looked at one constituency and we found this,” he added. “I am absolutely convinced that constituency after constituency this is the drama that is taking place. Thousands and thousands of new voters – how old are they? 50, 45, 60, 65.... Voter deletion, voter addition, new voters who are way above 18 years... we have caught them. I want to send a message to the Election Commission.”
He added: “If you think you are going to get away with this, if your officers think they are going to get away with this, you are mistaken. You are not going to get away with this because we are going to come for you."
Lok Sabha proceedings were adjourned till 2pm on Thursday following Opposition protests over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, the fourth straight day of disruptions.
Several MPs of the INDIA bloc parties, including Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, protested in Parliament House complex on Thursday against the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar and demanded its rollback as well as a discussion on the issue in both Houses.
Ahead of the start of the day's proceedings, top leaders and MPs of the opposition, including those of the Congress, DMK, TMC, Samajwadi Party, JMM, RJD and Left parties, assembled outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament and raised slogans against the government and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls
Top leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and K.C. Venugopal, Samajwadi Party's Ziaur Rahman Barq, TMC's Kirti Azad, DMK's A Raja, besides others, were part of the protest.
The raised slogans like "Save democracy" and "Stop vote-bandi".
There was a huge banner in front of them which read 'SIR- Loktantra par Vaar' as they lined up on the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament and staged a protest for the third consecutive day.
The Opposition alleges the EC's exercise is aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections.
The Election Commission of India has justified its move, saying in an affidavit to the Supreme Court:
The affidavit filed by the poll panel in a plea challenging June 24 order directing SIR of electoral roll pan-India starting from Bihar said despite legal concerns, Aadhaar, voter card and ration card were already being considered by the commission for the “limited purpose” of identity.
"The SIR exercise adds to the purity of elections by weeding out ineligible persons from the electoral roll,” it has said.
