March of despair by hopeless: BJP hits out at INDIA Bloc’s protest over SIR, 'vote theft'

New Delhi, Aug 11 BJP leaders launched a sharp attack on the INDIA Bloc's protest march to the Election Commission on Monday, dismissing it as a politically-motivated stunt and a march of despair by hopeless people.

“This march of despair, by those who are hopeless, frustrated, and depressed, who have lost three consecutive-times, is nothing but a farcical march. The public will not accept this march of despair,” said BJP MP Dinesh Sharma, reacting to the INDIA Bloc’s demonstration against alleged manipulation of voter rolls in Bihar and 'vote theft' in Karnataka Assembly polls.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey called the controversy around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls a long-running ploy. “Those who are making so much noise about SIR, it was a conspiracy that lasted 25 years,” he claimed.

Echoing similar sentiments, BJP MP Jagdambika Pal accused the Opposition of lacking any concrete agenda. “They have no agenda. The Opposition is raising the issue of SIR, but when the Election Commission asked Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi for proof, he is just doing a hit-and-run,” Pal claimed, questioning the credibility of the Opposition's claims.

The remarks came as Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, led a march of nearly 300 INDIA Bloc MPs from Parliament House to the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attacked LoP Gandhi and claimed in a post on X, "Rahul Gandhi ji is under pressure from anti-national forces. He and the INDIA alliance are defaming democracy, tearing it to shreds, and tampering with the dignity of constitutional institutions."

"Rahul Gandhi is repeatedly lying and wants to spread anarchy. He has defamed the Election Commission, the Supreme Court, and the CAG. He raised questions about the valour of the Army, and when the Army presented facts, he was silenced. He questioned EVMs without evidence, then abandoned EVMs after the Supreme Court's rebuke and has now moved on to SIR," he professed.

The protest was aimed at highlighting alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process in Bihar and broader concerns over electoral transparency.

The Opposition claims that the ruling BJP is manipulating voter rolls to influence outcomes in its favour, thereby undermining the democratic process. The march is part of a wider campaign against what the Bloc has described as “vote chori (vote theft)".

LoP Gandhi has previously said that clean voter rolls are essential for free and fair elections and has demanded that the ECI release digital copies for public audit. The INDIA Bloc insists that this is not just a political issue but a fight to protect democracy and the constitutional right to vote.

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