BJP mocks opposition for misspelling 'loktantra' as 'loktantar' during protest in Parliament

New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday took a dig at the opposition parties for displaying a banner with incorrect spelling of 'loktantra' in Hindi during a protest on Parliament premises, saying those who do not even know how to write the said word have come out to give lessons on democracy.

This came after several MPs of the opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc, including Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, held a protest in Parliament House complex against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls by the Election Commission (EC) in poll-bound Bihar.

There was a huge banner in front of them which read: 'SIR- loktantar par vaar' (attack on democracy), as they lined up on the steps of the Makar Dwar of Parliament and staged a protest, raising slogans like "Save democracy" and "Stop vote-bandi".

Mocking the opposition parties over the spelling of 'loktantra' (democracy) in the banner, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said in a post on X in Hindi, "It's loktantra, not loktantar." Posting a picture of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc's protest, the BJP took a swipe at opposition leaders over the spelling of 'loktantra', saying, "Those who do not know how to write 'loktantra' have come out to give lessons on democracy." Latching on to the issue, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla aimed at the Congress and said they can spell and save "parivar tantra and Emergency" in which they believe, not "loktantra".

"Can't blame Congress. They can neither spell nor save 'loktantra'. They believe in Parivar Tantra and Emergency! Surely, they can spell and save that," he wrote on X.

The I.N.D.I.A. bloc of the opposition parties has been protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the ongoing SIR, alleging that the exercise, initiated by the Election Commission, is aimed at disenfranchising voters in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections in the state.