INDIA bloc in Bihar hits streets, demands CEC's resignation over SIR 'irregularities'

Patna, Oct. 8 -- The opposition INDIA bloc in Bihar, led by RJD working president Tejashwi Yadav, hit the streets on Thursday to press the demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Leaders of the RJD, the Congress, the Left and some smaller allies, many of them members of Parliament or the state legislature, gathered at "Shaheed Smarak", a memorial of the martyrs of Quit India movement, situated adjacent to the Vidhan Sabha premises, for the "Lok Bhavan march".

Barely a hundred metres onwards, though, close to the office of the Election Commission here, the opposition leaders encountered barricades and a heavy contingent of police, armed to the teeth.

"It is appalling. We have informed the honourable governor that we will be visiting him in a peaceful procession. Yet I can see a few police personnel brandishing AK-47 rifles. This is the dictatorial attitude of the ruling NDA that Gyanesh Kumar is abetting", alleged Yadav, who is also the leader of the opposition in the state assembly.

The former deputy chief minister tried to muscle his way through, but he was caught hold of by the police personnel as soon as he clambered atop the barricades.

In the melee, many leaders were seen tripping on the road, and CPI(ML) leader and former MLA Ajit Kushwaha fainted, only to be taken away by the police for medical aid.

"The leader of the opposition and some others were taken to the Lok Bhavan where they met the governor. We have detained some protesters who were very unruly. Action will be taken in accordance with law", Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma told PTI.

RJD MP Misa Bharti, the eldest sister of Yadav, was also a part of the procession.

She told reporters, "You can see that our procession was peaceful and there was no law and order crisis. Still, the police acted in a high-handed manner. We are up against this very attitude of the powers that be."

After emerging from the Lok Bhawan, Yadav told reporters, "We recently saw the police opening fire on students. It seems the opposition leaders are next on the hit list of the dictatorial regime."

He also paraphrased a popular children's rhyme to take a swipe at the CEC, and his alleged attempts to "help the ruling BJP gain an unfair advantage" in elections.

"Gyanu, Gyanu, yes papa. Stealing votes, no papa. Open the newspaper, ha ha ha," said Yadav.

The young leader, who seemed beside himself with rage, said, "We complained to the governor that AK47-toting police personnel were on the prowl. Of course, he was not aware of this high-handedness. He was not aware of the barricades either."

Only recently the police in Siwan district had fired on protesting students from the automatic rifle, he alleged, adding, "Just imagine the mayhem had the lethal weapon gone off today, even accidentally".

"We had an appointment with the governor. Did the delegation not have the right to visit Lok Bhavan? It is just that we chose to arrive on foot and not by cars. People who were not part of the delegation would have stayed outside. What was there for the police to get so worked up?" asked the former deputy CM.

Yadav charged Gyanesh Kumar with "murdering democracy while enjoying legal immunity that has no parallels. Even the President of the country can face trial upon completion of term".

"Nonetheless, the nation realises that the CEC is just an instrument. Even the press releases issued by him are vetted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, both of whom must be ousted from power to fix the system," the RJD leader alleged.

Yadav also said he had on Wednesday spoken to Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who asked him to "join the agitation" in Delhi.

"I look forward to being a part of his Rashtrapati Bhawan march," Yadav said.

Despite the heavy deployment of police, hundreds of INDIA bloc leaders had managed to sneak close to the Lok Bhavan, while Yadav and some other delegates were with Governor Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain.

At the time, state BJP president Sanjay Saraogi happened to turn up at the Lok Bhavan, only to be jeered by slogans like "vote chor kahaan milenge, BJP ke daftar mein" (Where will you find vote thieves? In the BJP office).

RJD MLC Sunil Kumar Singh tried to climb atop the bonnet of the vehicle, only to be dragged down by the police before the car rushed inside the premises.

Among those who accompanied Yadav during the meeting with the governor was state Congress president Rajesh Kumar Ram, who turned up wearing handcuffs, and told reporters, "This is to highlight the fact that democracy is in chains".

Former state minister Mukesh Sahni, who heads the Vikassheel Insan Party, was also part of the delegation.

He told reporters, "The governor has said that he will forward our memorandum to the authorities concerned. Though we know nothing is going to come of it. We must brace for a long fight".

A three-page memorandum was presented to the governor by the delegation which informed him that it had taken out a "Gyanesh bhagao loktantra bachao march" (Drive out Gyanesh, save democracy march).

The demands raised in the memorandum included the "scrapping of the 2023 law that grants legal immunity to election commissioners, prosecution of Gyanesh Kumar and probe into the role of Seema Khanna, the IT department head at ECI, elections through ballot papers in place of EVMs and fresh assembly polls in Bihar after declaring illegal the ones held last year after SIR".

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.