Kiren Rijiju Meets Rahul Gandhi, Kharge After Bihar SIR Uproar In Parliament
Kiren Rijiju today met Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge during an all-party meet. Rahul raised concerns over the SIR exercise in Bihar and sought discussion on it in Parliament.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday met Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge during an all-party meet at the Speaker's room.
According to sources, the leaders discussed the voter roll revision in Bihar and the charges against Allahabad High Court Judge Yashwant Varma and his impeachment.
Sources also said that Rahul Gandhi, during the meeting, also questioned as to when a discussion on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in poll-bound Bihar will be taken up.
Earlier today, Kharge joined the protest by the INDIA Bloc MPs against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls in Bihar. The protest, which entered its fifth consecutive day, was held at Parliament's Makar Dwar.
Several senior Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and party leader Priyanka Gandhi, also participated in the protest.
The MPs marched from the Gandhi statue on the Parliament premises ahead of the start of the day's session, and were seen carrying multiple posters and a big banner which read 'SIR- Attack on Democracy."
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi, who also attended the protest, criticised the Election Commission (EC) for not providing the updated voter rolls to the political parties.
'They should respond to the allegations. They should provide us with the voters' list, which we have been asking for. There should be transparency. It is a democracy. All political parties should have access to that information. Why is it not being provided?" she told reporters at the Parliament premises.
The opposition parties, including Congress and Samajwadi Party, have been protesting against the SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar, alleging that it's an attempt to disenfranchise voters, particularly from marginalised communities.
They claim that the process is being used to remove names from the voters' list, which could impact the outcome of upcoming assembly elections.
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