'Who gave them the right..?': Bihar woman slams INDIA bloc, Rahul & Priyanka Gandhi for politicising her face without consent
Minta Devi from Bihar rebuked the INDIA bloc for using her image in a protest without consent, sparked by an EC voter list error that wrongly stated her age as 124. Upset, she questioned the opposition's motives and emphasized her desire for accurate records, not political exploitation.
Agencies Bihar woman Minta Devi A woman from Bihar's Siwan district has publicly rebuked the Opposition's INDIA bloc for using her name and photograph in a protest without her permission, after her age was mistakenly recorded as 124 years in the Election Commission (EC) voter list.On Tuesday, Opposition MPs staged a demonstration in Parliament wearing T-shirts with her name and the slogan '124 Not Out' to highlight alleged discrepancies in the electoral roll.
Reacting sharply, Minta Devi told news agency ANI that she only learned about the issue recently and wanted her details corrected, not politicised."I came to know about this 2-4 days back... Who are they (Opposition MPs) to me? Who is Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi to me? Who gave them the right to wear T-shirts featuring me?... I think there are discrepancies (in the list)... I did not get anyone's (from the administration) phone call... Why are they becoming my well-wisher over my age?... This should not be done, I do not want this..." Minta Devi said."I want my details to be corrected... Whoever entered the details, did they do so with their eyes closed?... If I am 124 years old in the eyes of the government, why are they not giving me old age pension? My Aadhaar Card mentions 15-07-1990 as my date of birth," she added.
Earlier in the day, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, party president Mallikarjun Kharge and other INDIA bloc leaders joined the protest in Parliament over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll. Several MPs wore white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan '124 Not Out', while leaders including NCP MP Supriya Sule and DMK MP Kanimozhi carried onions as part of their demonstration.Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission of failing in its duty."We are protecting the Constitution. One Man One Vote is the foundation of the Constitution. It is the duty of the Election Commission to enforce One Man, One Vote, but they have not done their duty. We are protecting the Constitution, and we will keep doing it..." he said.CPI(M) MP P Sandosh Kumar declared that the campaign will now be escalated nationwide. "INDIA parties' leaders are more energised and this has become an all-India campaign. We will intensify our fight against SIR. There is more unity among the coalition partners now. This will be a huge fight to save democracy..."
(With inputs from ANI)
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