Patna: The special intensive revision (SIR) process of Bihar’s voter list has failed to impress the Opposition parties.
So much so that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, hinted at a possible boycott of the polls which are due in the state in October-November this year.
Tejashwi, who engaged in a fiery debate with chief minister Nitish Kumar over SIR, on Wednesday alleged that the ongoing exercise was “dishonest” in nature.
Asked if the Opposition could mutually decide to boycott the elections, Tejashwi told news agency IANS: “That too can be discussed. We will see what the people want and what everyone’s opinion is.”
He went on to add, “when everything has already been decided with dishonesty beforehand… then what’s the point of having an election?”
The BJP’s response was on expected lines.
Taunting Tejashwi for being scared of losing the election, the saffron party – part of the Nitish-led NDA government in Bihar — reiterated that the Election Commission of India (ECI) is an independent institution and the revision exercise is a ‘transparent’ process.
“Tejashwi Yadav’s statement of boycotting the elections reflects his frustration and fear of defeat. In a democracy, the voice of the people is supreme, and threatening to suppress it is undemocratic and irresponsible. The Election Commission is an independent institution, and voter list revision is a transparent process, which Tejashwi is calling a conspiracy without any proof,” said Bihar BJP spokesperson Neeraj Kumar.
Tejashwi’s remarks on the ECI’s electoral roll exercise in Bihar irked Nitish, who resorted to personal attacks even as members of the ruling side and Opposition used unparliamentary language against each other.
Nitish intervened when Tejashwi was making a statement on the SIR revision, and called him a “child”.
The situation escalated quickly, prompting speaker Nand Kishor Yadav to adjourn the proceedings till 2 pm, barely 30 minutes after the House had convened at 11 am.
“We are not opposed to the special intensive revision per se, but how the Election Commission has been carrying out the exercise is objectionable. Why so late, when elections are just around the corner? They could have conducted it a few months earlier,” said Tejashwi.
“Only two-three per cent of voters in the state may have the documents that the EC is asking them to produce. What is this fear of fake voters? Does the EC mean to say fake voters have made Narendra Modi the PM and Nitish Kumar the CM. The EC has also not spoken of any foreign nationals in the voters’ list in its affidavit before the Supreme Court,” Tejashwi added.
Nitish, who was not happy that the discussion was allowed by the speaker, protested. “You are a child. You know nothing of matters like these. Only three days are left of this last session of the House. Let it conduct legislative business. Whatever rubbish you want to speak, you may do it to your heart’s content during elections. When his (Yadav’s) parents were chief ministers, they did nothing, neither for the women, nor for Muslims, nor any other section of society. The only woman who got something was his mother.”
The SIR issue came up in Parliament also, with Opposition parties staging protests during the ongoing Monsoon session. There were repeated disruptions in both Houses as they demanded a discussion on the issue. Rajya Sabha was finally adjourned, and Lok Sabha also — for the third consecutive day.
