SIR an institutionalised method to steal votes, says Rahul Gandhi in Bihar's Araria

Rahul Gandhi

Continuing his attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP-led NDA government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Sunday accused them of attempting to “steal votes of the poor” through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Addressing a rally in Araria as part of the ongoing ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’, Gandhi alleged that the SIR exercise was an “institutionalised method to steal votes,” carried out with the backing of the Election Commission.

“The Narendra Modi government… after privatising public sector units… now wants to steal votes of the poor through the SIR with the help of the Election Commission,” the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha remarked.

Mincing no words, the former Congress president described the poll body as “election omission” instead of Election Commission. He claimed the move was unconstitutional and aimed at disenfranchising the marginalised sections of society ahead of the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav rode a bullet bike during their Bihar Yatra as they continued their 16-day ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ in Bihar’s Purnia with their campaign against alleged irregularities in the state’s voter rolls. The 1,300-km yatra was launched on August 17 from Sasaram. It will cover more than 20 districts over a period of 16 days, and conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.

Gandhi, addressing a rally in Katihar district on Saturday evening as part of the yatra, had deplored "attempts to steal votes" in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls, in favour of the BJP, which has "shut the doors of opportunities" for the poor since coming to power at the Centre.

The Election Commission is conducting a revision of the voter list to remove ‘ineligible’ from Bihar voter list ahead of the assembly election. The exercise attracted a lot of criticism as the Opposition parties claimed the poll body was selectively removing people from the list at the behest of BJP.