Opposition MPs protest against SIR; Rahul says PM 'shies away' from discussing people's issues

New Delhi: Several opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, on Tuesday staged a protest in the Parliament House complex against the SIR and demanded a discussion on electoral reforms.

Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue, saying the PM states that Parliament belongs to the people of India, but he constantly "shies away" from discussing important issues related to people's welfare.

"What could be a bigger public issue in a democracy than voting rights?" Gandhi said in a Facebook post in Hindi after the protest.

Noting that the I.N.D.I.A. bloc held a strong protest outside Parliament House against the SIR, Gandhi said the opposition demands that a serious discussion on the SIR should take place in Parliament to protect the Constitution and democracy.

"Every citizen's rights are vested in the vote, and the SIR is clearly a weapon to cut the votes of the country's poor and Bahujan community and make elections one-sided," the former Congress chief said.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who also participated in the protest, alleged that the Narendra Modi government and the Election Commission were together executing 'vote theft' through the SIR.

"This is an organised attempt to strip the voting rights of our millions of Dalit, backward, tribal, and deprived brothers and sisters. Despite all the questions being raised, the Election Commission is not answering any of them, and the government is openly defending the Commission," she said in a post in Hindi on X after the protest.

"This is a conspiracy to destroy democracy and the Constitution and to establish dictatorship. We will not allow this to happen under any circumstances," Priyanka Gandhi asserted.

DMK's K Kanhimozhi, and T R Baalu, and CPI(M)'s John Brittas were among the other opposition leaders who took part in the protest in front of Parliament's Makar Dwar.

The leaders held posters and placards against the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voters' list in nine states and three Union Territories. They also had a huge banner which read 'Stop SIR-Stop Vote Chori' and raised slogans against the government.

The first day of the Winter session on Monday witnessed repeated adjournments of the Lok Sabha and an opposition walkout from the Rajya Sabha over a demand for a debate on the SIR.

Interacting with reporters in the Parliament House complex before the start of the session, Modi on Monday had hit out at the Opposition, accusing it of turning Parliament into a "warm-up arena" for elections or as an outlet to vent out frustration after defeat, and offered to give them tips to bring positivity in politics.