Opposition MPs to march to ECI office against Bihar's SIR
What's the story
Over 300 Members of Parliament (MPs) from the opposition will stage a protest march from the Parliament to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Delhi on Monday. The protest, they say, is against alleged "vote chori" (vote theft) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The rally, organized by the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), will start at 11:30am from Makar Dwar in Parliament.
Twitter Post
Security has been heightened
#WATCH | Delhi: Security has been heightened and barricades have been put up outside the Transport Bhawan as the INDIA Bloc leaders are set to stage a march from the Parliament to the Election Commission of India to protest against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of… pic.twitter.com/mFJeS3l47e
— ANI (@ANI) August 11, 2025
Digital initiative
Congress launches web portal for support
The protest will be held without the bloc's banner so that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which exited the alliance last month, can also be included. The AAP has 12 MPs in Parliament. Protesters plan to hold up placards in English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and Marathi to show their opposition to the Bihar SIR exercise. The Congress has also launched a web portal for citizens to register their support and demand accountability from the ECI.
Gandhi
Congress has launched a web portal
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, alleged that "Vote Chori is an attack on the foundational idea of 'one man, one vote.'" He demanded transparency from the ECI and release of digital voter rolls for auditing. However, the Delhi Police is not likely to grant permission for the protest to reach the ECI office, which is less than two kilometers away. A senior officer told Hindustan Times that no formal request for police permission has been submitted.
Vote theft claims
ECI has rejected claims as 'incorrect'
Last week, Gandhi had alleged that over one lakh votes were "stolen" through five types of manipulation in the Mahadevapura assembly segment during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He had also flagged similar concerns in Maharashtra during the election in November. The ECI, however, has repeatedly rejected these claims as "incorrect" and asked Gandhi to submit data of alleged dubious voters under oath.