On the fifth day of the Monsoon Session, INDIA alliance MPs tore up posters marked with “SIR” inside the Parliament complex, protesting the Bihar Special Intensive Revision, which they called an attempt to target minorities and marginalized communities.
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, Shiv Sena (UBT), 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 the electoral roll.
The MPs were seen tearing posters labeled “SIR” and discarding them into a bin, symbolizing their rejection of the SIR process, while shouting slogans like “Band karo, band karo, SIR band karo!,” meaning “Stop it, shut it down, shut down SIR!”
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge strongly criticised the BJP and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, alleging that “the Modi government wants to strip voting rights from the poor and allow only influential people to vote.”
Recalling the vision of India’s founding leaders, he said, “When Baba Saheb Ambedkar Ji and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Ji granted voting rights to all, they believed in empowering everyone without discrimination.”
“But today,” Kharge continued, “the way the BJP is trying to revise votes in a wrong manner is a very bad thing. This harms democracy and damages the country.”
He also raised concerns over the Election Commission’s announcement to carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) across the country, stating, “This is not right.”
“They should respond to the allegations. They should provide us with the voters’ list, which we have been asking for. There should be transparency,” said Congress General Secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
“It is a democracy. All political parties should have access to that information. Why is it not being provided?,” she asked.
Ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled later this year, the Election Commission has ordered a “special intensive revision” of the voter list ahead of the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, requiring individuals whose names are not on the 2003 electoral roll to submit proof of eligibility.
As part of the voter list revision exercise, individuals born before July 1, 1987, must provide proof of their date and place of birth. Those born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004, are required to submit documents verifying their parents’ date and place of birth. Meanwhile, individuals born after December 2, 2004, must furnish proof of date of birth for both parents.
Since the beginning of the Monsoon Session of Parliament in New Delhi on July 23, 2025, several MPs from the opposition INDIA bloc have been protesting against the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
On Day 3 of the session, top opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Akhilesh Yadav, T R Baalu, Sanjay Raut, and Kalyan Banerjee, assembled outside the Makar Dwar of Parliament. Dressed in black and holding placards, they raised slogans like “Save democracy” and “Stop vote-bandi,” calling for the rollback of the SIR.
The protests have led to adjournments in both houses of Parliament
The opposition has alleged that the SIR is a targeted attempt to disenfranchise voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections and has demanded a discussion on the issue in both Houses.
