The INDIA bloc parties, in an unanimous decision at their meeting on Thursday (July 31, 2025), resolved to intensify their protests on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, both inside and outside the Parliament. Both Houses of Parliament failed to function on Thursday.
Opposition leaders protest against SIR in Parliament complex
The INDIA bloc leaders have decided to organise a protest march to the Election Commission headquarters next week. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, suggested during the meeting that the Opposition must establish that the EC is going beyond its mandate to determine the citizenship of voters during the SIR exercise. He also urged the INDIA bloc parties to use accessible language in their protests — such as ‘vote-bandi’ (along the lines of ‘notebandi’, the colloquial term used for demonetisation), ‘vote ki chori’, and ‘vote ki loot’ (both meaning vote theft).
Focus on SIR
Mr. Gandhi, along with Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, will conduct a two-week long campaign on the SIR issue, in Bihar in the second week of August. Mr. Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly.
