Patna, July 22 (IANS) On the second day of the Bihar Legislative Assembly monsoon session, opposition parties staged strong protests wearing black clothes against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.

The opposition, led by the Leader of Opposition in the Council, Rabri Devi, alleged, “The government is using SIR to tamper with the voter list. It is a conspiracy to suppress votes of backward and marginalised communities under the guise of verification,” Rabri Devi said.

During the protest, slogans were raised like, “Stop trying to usurp elections and SIR is an excuse; the purpose is to ban voting.”

MLCs of the Grand Alliance arrived at the Council wearing black clothes, holding posters and placards while raising slogans in the portico before the session began.

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary countered the opposition’s allegations, stating, “The Election Commission has made it clear that no citizen—poor, backward, Dalit, or general—is being removed unfairly from the voter list. So far, 98 per cent participation has been recorded in the re-verification process of 19 lakh deceased voters, 20 lakh migrated citizens and 8 lakh duplicate voters have been identified.”

He further said, “The SIR process will conclude on July 26, after which the draft voter list will be published, allowing all parties to file objections transparently.”

Samrat Chaudhary targeted the opposition’s black-clothes protest, remarking, “Shani has overshadowed them; that’s why they are roaming around in black.”

He accused the opposition of misleading the people and referenced past political statements on illegal voters to justify the verification drive, citing that “over 120 per cent Aadhaar registration in districts like Kishanganj makes investigation necessary.”

When questioned about speculations of CM Nitish Kumar being considered for Vice President, Samrat Chaudhary remarked, “It is up to the BJP and NDA leadership, and they will decide.”

The monsoon session is politically crucial, with the government aiming to pass key bills before the upcoming elections.

The opposition is aggressively targeting the government on law and order, voter list revision, and unemployment during this five-day session.

–IANS

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