Patna, July 9 (IANS) Hours after Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, accused the Centre and Election Commission of trying to “steal” the Bihar Assembly elections through voter list revision, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary hit back, calling the protest a ‘drama.’

“Leaders like Rahul Gandhi come to Bihar for a picnic. He has nothing to do with Bihar’s problems or development. He just comes, does drama, and leaves. He should at least look at Patna’s airport if he wants to see development,” Choudhary said while interacting with the media persons in Patna on Wednesday.

LoP Gandhi was in Patna to lead the Chakka Jam Protest March, which started from Income Tax roundabout to the Election Commission’s office via Veer Chand Patel Path.

A major face-off took place between the INDIA bloc workers and the Patna Police near the R-Block roundabout.

Senior BJP leader and national spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain also slammed the protest, calling it a complete flop show.

“This is a protest of unruly people who stopped school buses, blocked ambulances, and even sat on railway tracks. The people of Bihar did not support them. Only RJD, Congress, and Pappu Yadav’s supporters were on the roads,” Hussain said.

JD(U) MLC and spokesperson Neeraj Kumar mocked LoP Gandhi and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav for calling it a ‘Chakka Jam’ while riding on a lavishly decorated vehicle.

“They made a mockery of the protest by travelling on a ‘Rath’. What kind of ‘Chakka Jam’ is this? Innocent schoolchildren stayed indoors because of them. The common people did not join. This is just a drama by the INDIA bloc leaders,” Kumar claimed.

The protest, spearheaded by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and other alliance partners, was aimed at halting the ongoing voter list verification process, which Opposition leaders fear is designed to disenfranchise voters from marginalised communities.

The Opposition has been raising its concern over the process in which 78 million voters would have to establish they are genuine citizens in a matter of weeks.

According to the Congress, in a state like Bihar where poverty and low educational levels result in poor awareness on documentation, nearly 30 million voters would have to provide 11 documents, rather than the commonly available ration cards, Aadhaar cards or voter IDs to prove their citizenship.

Earlier in the day, LoP Gandhi launched a sharp attack on the Centre and the Election Commission of India, alleging that the Maharashtra model of “stealing elections” was now being implemented in Bihar.

“We have come to Bihar, where people have sacrificed their lives for the Constitution. It is written in our Constitution that every citizen has the right to vote. I want to tell the people of India and Bihar that just like the Maharashtra elections were stolen, similarly, an attempt is being made to steal the Bihar elections,” LoP Gandhi said while addressing a large gathering during the ‘Chakka Jam’ protest in Patna against the voter list revision.

LoP Gandhi said that the BJP and the Election Commission have understood that the Opposition has seen through the Maharashtra model.

“They have come to know that we have understood the Maharashtra model, so now they have come up with the Bihar model,” the Congress MP said, adding that “this is a way to snatch the votes of the poor, but they do not know that this is Bihar and the people of Bihar will never let this happen.”

–IANS

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