Opposition MPs Protest Voter Purge in Bihar

New Delhi: Over 300 Members of Parliament from various opposition parties marched to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters today on August 11, 2025. They protested against the mass disenfranchisement of voters in Bihar. The INDIA bloc, a coalition of opposition parties, organised the protest in response to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls.

The demonstration began in the morning at the Parliament complex, with MPs marching toward Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission's office. However, Delhi Police stopped them before they could reach the building. The protest soon became tense, as the police tried to disrupt the peaceful protest led by the MPs.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav jumped over a barricade, while some parliamentarians reportedly fainted due to the scuffle and August heat. Multiple women MPs said they were mishandled by the police.

Despite the disruption, the opposition sent a clear message that the SIR exercise in Bihar is a deliberate effort by the union government, allegedly in collusion with the Election Commission, to remove lakhs of legitimate voters from the rolls. They rasiesd slogans like “Stop vote theft,” “End the BJP-EC nexus,” and “Save democracy”.

The controversy began when the EC began the SIR process on June 24, 2025. The Commission states that this revision is standard and necessary before Bihar’s Assembly elections scheduled for November. Officials argue the goal is to clean the voter list by removing names of deceased individuals, duplicate entries, and those who have migrated.

However the process has led to the removal of over 52 lakh names from the voter rolls, a figure the Commission itself has confirmed. Roughly 26 lakh voters were listed as “migrated,” around 18 lakh were labeled “deceased,” and 7 lakh were noted as “duplicate entries.” Opposition leaders argue that many of these removals occurred without proper verification or public awareness, putting genuine voters—especially the poor, minorities, daily wage workers, and internal migrants—at risk of being unfairly removed from the electoral rolls.

Major concerns are the inconsistencies in the documentation process. Several citizens have reported, according to ground reports and civil society groups, being asked to submit documents like land records, utility bills, or passports—documents that many rural and underprivileged people lack. This makes the process exclusionary, especially since widely accepted forms of identification like Aadhaar and Voter ID are not accepted for verification.

Several opposition parties and electoral reform organisations have filed petitions challenging the SIR process. The Supreme Court (Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi) urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider including Aadhaar, ration cards, and EPIC (Electoral Photo Identity Card) as acceptable documents for voter identity during the SIR.

The Court had also raised concerns about the short timeline for completing the revision ahead of the November 2025 elections, expressing concern that ordinary citizens may not be able to furnish the required documentation in time.

During the July 28 hearing, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its position—prioritize "en masse inclusion" rather than exclusion during the SIR. It again encouraged ECI to recognize Aadhaar and EPIC as valid identity proofs.

However, in its counter-affidavit, filed by the deadline of July 21, the ECI pushed back against accepting these documents as proof of citizenship. The commission maintained that Aadhaar and ration cards are not valid proof of citizenship, though they may be used to supplement other documents.

Meanwhile, protests are expected to grow in the coming days with nationwide demonstrations, as it is one of democracy's survival. As Bihar prepares for its Assembly elections, the debate over voter list revisions has become a central issue.

Following the protest on Monday, Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge held a strategy meeting with INDIA bloc MPs after the protest. Leaders such as Amraram, Dr. Sivadas, Su Venkateshan, Rahul Gandhi, Sharad Pawar, and others stressed that this issue extends beyond Bihar and threatens the fundamental right to vote nationwide.