Bihar Assembly uproar continues on 4th day over voter list revision issue

Patna, July 24
The fourth day of the Monsoon Session of the Bihar Assembly began with continued uproar by opposition MLAs, who are demanding a special discussion in the House on the ongoing voter list revision (SIR) in the state.

Mahagathbandhan MLAs arrived wearing black clothes, raising slogans inside and outside the Assembly, protesting alleged irregularities in the voter list revision.

The opposition alleges that the Election Commission of India, in collusion with the government, is conspiring to remove the names of the poor and disadvantaged voters from the voter list, impacting the upcoming elections. The issue has now escalated to the High Court and the Supreme Court.

The opposition leaders reiterated that the House proceedings will not continue until there is a dedicated discussion on SIR, demanding the withdrawal of the current voter list revision campaign.

Due to the continuous ruckus, question hour and member queries have not been addressed for the last two days, preventing public issues from being raised.

If protests continue for the day inside the House, questions from various departments listed for discussion may also remain unanswered.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister Samrat Chaudhary, who had presented the supplementary budget on July 21, said it will be discussed on the day. The Social Welfare Department’s budget -- which has received the highest allocation in the supplementary budget -- is scheduled for detailed discussion.

On July 21, Samrat Choudhary had presented a supplementary budget exceeding Rs 57,946 crore in the Assembly. The state government will also present the CAG report in the House.

The voter list revision ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections has become a flashpoint between the ruling NDA and the opposition Mahagathbandhan.

While the government maintains that the revision process is necessary for fair elections, the opposition claims that the process is flawed, poorly timed during the rainy and farming season, and threatens to disenfranchise the poor and migrant voters.