‘Who gave Priyanka, Rahul Gandhi the right?': Minta Devi slams use of her name, photo in voter chori protest by India bloc
Minta Devi
discovered days later that her name and an alleged age of 124 were printed on white T-shirts worn by
INDIA bloc MPs
outside Parliament. '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 list). I did not get anyone's (from administration) phone call. Why are they becoming my well-wisher over my age? This should not be done, I do not want this. 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 Govt, why are they not giving me old age pension? My Aadhaar Card mentions 15-07-1990 as my date of birth,' she told ANI.
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From village record to Parliament protest
Minta Devi's name appears in the draft electoral roll for Bihar's Daraundha Assembly seat, recorded as a first-time voter born in 1900. That would make her nine years older than the world's verified oldest living person. The Opposition says her case exposes flaws in the EC's ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list, which they allege is designed to disenfranchise voters ahead of state polls later this year.
On Tuesday, senior leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Derek O'Brien, TR Baalu and Supriya Sule staged a demonstration in Parliament's Makar Dwar. They wore T-shirts reading '124 NOT OUT' and carried banners declaring 'Our Vote. Our Right. Our Fight' and 'SIR – Silent Invisible Rigging'.
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Congress MP Manickam Tagore accused the EC of being 'a department of the BJP' and said 'the voter list is full of such fraud.' Rahul Gandhi told reporters, 'There are unlimited cases like that. Abhi picture baki hai (The story is still unfolding).'
EC says error being fixed
The Siwan district administration says it contacted Devi on 10 August after a booth-level officer spotted the error. 'An application was obtained from Minta Devi on August 10 for rectifying the error. It will be dealt with during the claims and objections phase,' the collectorate said in a statement.
Devi herself says she mistakenly wrote '1900' instead of '1990' while filling her online form, after no booth-level officer visited her home. 'I am thrilled that, finally, at the age of 35, I may get a chance to cast my vote. Many polls have passed since I became eligible but somehow my name never made it to the voters' list. If the EC has made me a grandma (daadi bana diya) in the process, it is fine with me. I have nothing to fear,' she told reporters.
Wider concerns over Bihar's electoral rolls
The controversy has fed into a broader row in Parliament, where Opposition parties have disrupted proceedings since the Monsoon session began on 21 July. They allege the EC's revision is 'vote chori' and claim the voter list is riddled with irregularities, including the registration of centenarians as first-time voters.
Two other women, Farzana Khatun and Asha Devi from Bhagalpur's Pirpainti Assembly seat, are also listed as being 120 years old. The EC has not commented on whether they too are marked as first-time voters.
On Monday, Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and other MPs were briefly detained by police during a march from Parliament to the EC office. They wore white caps with a red cross over the letters 'SIR' and the words 'vote chori' while chanting slogans.
The EC has rejected claims of political bias, saying the SIR is necessary because such a revision has not been held regularly since 2004. Officials say many ineligible people hold voter cards and some have multiple IDs in different constituencies. More than 10,500 applications have been received for inclusion in the draft roll, with claims and objections open until 1 September.
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