Opposition holds 'T-shirt protest' against SIR, 'vote chori' in Parliament premises

Opposition MPs from the INDIA bloc staged a high-profile protest in the Parliament House complex on Tuesday against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, accusing the poll body of facilitating “silent rigging” ahead of state elections later this year.

Several lawmakers wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the name and photograph of 'Minta Devi' — a woman allegedly listed as a first-time voter despite reportedly being 124 years old. The slogan '124 Not Out' was printed on the back of the shirts, a satirical swipe at what they claim is evidence of systemic fraud.

Senior leaders including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress parliamentary party chair Sonia Gandhi, party MP and general-secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader T.R. Baalu, and Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule joined the demonstration near Parliament’s Makar Dwar. Lawmakers from the Left also participated, holding placards reading 'Stop SIR' and 'Vote Chori' (theft).

A banner displayed prominently at the site read: 'Our Vote. Our Right. Our Fight', while another described SIR as 'Silent Invisible Rigging'. This marked the 15th consecutive day of protest over the issue.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore alleged that the ECI, under former chief election commissioner Rajeev Kumar and current CEC Gyanesh Kumar, had effectively become 'a department of the BJP'. “The voters’ list is full of such fraud. Minta Devi is a first-time voter – and she’s 124 years old. We want a discussion on such issues and on how the EC has become a party to the BJP,” he said.

The SIR controversy has paralysed parliamentary proceedings since the monsoon session began on 21 July. Other than a two-day special discussion on Operation Sindoor, little legislative business has been conducted owing to repeated adjournments over the Bihar SIR dispute.

The INDIA bloc contends that the revision exercise is designed to disenfranchise voters in Bihar, where Assembly elections are due later in 2025. They allege that the ECI’s actions will disproportionately impact communities traditionally seen as Opposition supporters.

The BJP and the ECI have both denied wrongdoing. The EC has defended SIR as a routine measure to update rolls, citing the need to remove duplicates and ensure accuracy ahead of polls.

Tensions escalated on Monday, 11 August, when Opposition MPs — including Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and Sharad Pawar — attempted a protest march from Parliament to the ECI headquarters. Wearing white caps with a red cross over the letters 'SIR' and the phrase 'vote chori', MPs carried banners and placards as they left Parliament’s Makar Dwar.

However, Delhi Police blocked their path with barricades near the Press Trust of India building. Some MPs sat on the road chanting slogans, while several women parliamentarians climbed the barricades in defiance.

The police detained the demonstrators, escorting them into buses and taking them to the Parliament Street police station. All were released later in the day.

The protest reflects heightened political stakes ahead of Bihar’s Assembly polls, widely seen as a test for the INDIA bloc’s unity and electoral strategy before the 2026 general elections. The alliance — comprising the Congress, TMC, DMK, Left parties, and several regional forces — has sought to frame the SIR controversy as evidence of a broader erosion of democratic institutions under the BJP-led government.

While the BJP accuses the Opposition of manufacturing controversies to stall Parliament, the INDIA bloc insists it is defending the sanctity of the ballot. With neither side backing down, the dispute over Bihar’s voter rolls appears set to continue dominating political discourse in the weeks ahead.

With PTI inputs