New Delhi: Earlier Monday, when they were on their way to the Election Commission offices to demonstrate against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, members of Parliament from a number of parties who are part of the INDIA bloc were arrested from the Parliament street.
Opposition parties have referred to the practice as “vote-bandi” and “vote-chori” (vote stealing) and warned that it could result in many people losing their right to vote. Opposition leaders concurred that it is still the top concern for the Monsoon Session and said that they will keep protesting both inside and outside the House in order to force a discussion on the matter.
Akhilesh Yadav of the SP, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of the Congress, Sanjay Raut of the Shiv Sena (UBT), and Sagarika Ghose of the TMC were among the more than thirty MPs who were arrested and brought to the Parliament Street Police Station. The demonstrators were in “large numbers,” according to officials, even though the Election Commission had only allowed 30 MPs to visit its grounds.
Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha, claimed that the opposition is demonstrating for the right of all Indians to vote and called for a “clean and pure” voter list. He also claimed that the problem of the alleged irregularities he pointed out would “explode” as soon as it affects the entire nation rather than just one constituency.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, the Congress leader had previously accused Bengaluru’s Mahadevapura constituency of widespread electoral register fraud.
Gandhi claimed that the information provided by the Congress to offer “proof” of “vote theft” was stolen from the commission’s website, indicating that he would not furnish the signed statement that the EC had requested.
“This is their information. I should not sign it because it is not my data. It was collected from their website and is solely their data. Gandhi told reporters, “This is just a distraction.”
The EC is aware of the explosive nature of this data. We will expose what it is attempting to conceal and control, and it will blow up. “The EC is aware of this,” he continued.
The letter to Congress leader Jairam Ramesh stated that the Election Commission has scheduled an encounter with opposition MPs for Monday, August 11, at 12 p.m. Jairam Ramesh requested the appointment, which was made “on behalf of certain political parties.” The EC had asked that up to 30 people’s names and car numbers be submitted for the meeting due to space constraints.
Following the passing of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, the march that had been scheduled for August 8 was rescheduled. After around two hours, all of the detained members were freed, according to police officials.
