Indian Youth Congress holds protest in Delhi against SIR exercise in Bihar

New Delhi, Jul 28 (PTI) The Indian Youth Congress on Monday held a protest in the national capital against the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list by the Election Commission in Bihar, accusing the poll body of acting at the behest of the BJP-led central government.

Leading the demonstration, IYC national president Uday Bhanu Chib alleged that the Election Commission (EC) has “reduced itself to a puppet” of the ruling party, a statement by the IYC said.

The protest began from the Youth Congress office and was scheduled to proceed towards the Election Commission headquarters. However, Delhi Police erected barricades at Raisina Road, stopping several IYC workers from marching further, the statement said.

"Democracy is functioning on the dictatorial orders of the Modi government, which is extremely shameful. We will not tolerate this conspiracy of vote theft in the name of SIR,” Chib said.

He added that the IYC will strongly oppose SIR and continue its agitation “from Parliament to the streets” until the Election Commission withdraws it.

“This is not just our voice, it is the voice of every youth, Dalit, poor and minority citizen of this country,” he said, while accusing the EC and the BJP of remaining silent on critical questions regarding electoral fairness.

The IYC has alleged that the so-called SIR initiative is a ploy to influence the upcoming elections in Bihar and manipulate voter data. The party did not elaborate on the specifics of the scheme.

Chib also referred to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s allegations on election manipulation in Maharashtra, linking them to the developments in Bihar. PTI MHS RT