Rahul Gandhi To Lead Bihar Bandh Against Special Intensive Revision
Opposition in Bihar led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav, is protesting ECI's SIR drive, calling it disenfranchisement of poor and migrant voters.
Published : July 7, 2025 at 5:47 PM IST
Patna: The Opposition Mahagathbandhan (Grand Alliance) upped the ante against the 'special intensive revision' (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar on Monday, slamming the Election Commission of India (ECI) for putting the voters into trouble. It has also decided to call a Bihar bandh on July 9 in which Congress leader Rahul Gandhi will participate.
Rahul Gandhi to lead Bihar Bandh
The opposition parties have decided to indulge in a 'total strike' in which roads would be blocked and the plying of all types of vehicles would be stopped. Rahul would arrive in Patna on Wednesday morning to lead it.
"Our leader Rahul Gandhi is coming to spearhead the protest. He will lead a grand march against SIR from the ‘Income Tax roundabout’ in the state capital to the Martyrs’ Memorial outside the Legislative Assembly, and then to the Election Commission office close by," Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Kumar told ETV Bharat.
Adding that Bihar Bandh would be the manifestation of the angst of the common people and voters of Bihar, Rajesh said that the emergency services, ambulances, milk supply, and people traveling to catch flights would not be disturbed during the protest.
"The SIR is an illegal step by the ECI. Around 90 per cent of the people in Bihar do not have the 11 documents being demanded for the revision, and it will take much time to procure them. The previous such division took 15 months, but this time it is being done in such a hurried manner that voters are wondering whether it is a ploy to disenfranchise them," added Kumar.
Rajesh also questioned why did the ECI publish the final electoral rolls on January 1, 2025, for the forthcoming state Assembly polls, if it had to conduct SIR. He also asked how such a massive exercise could be completed by July 26 and not even eight percent of the work has been completed.
Central leaders of Congress, including its media and publicity department chairman Pawan Khera, and general secretary KC Venugopal also spoke against SIR.
While Khera said that Congress along with nine political parties have come together to challenge the exercise in the Supreme Court, and the entire opposition stood together against the move to disenfranchise the people, Venugopal added that it was a "mass-scale rigging and mischief being carried out by the ECI, under instructions from the ruling regime."
The apex court will hear the petitions on July 10.
RJD seeks withdrawal of SIR, attacks the ECI
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which is the largest opposition party in Bihar and leads the Mahagathbandhan, called a meeting to discuss the ways to make the bandh a success. Its leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav sought its immediate halt to remove doubts from the hearts of the common people and to strengthen democracy.
Tejashwi, who is the younger son of RJD president Lalu Prasad, said that he would be in Patna and accompany Rahul Gandhi during the bandh, which would be a statewide one.
Pointing out that an RJD delegation had met the ECI on July 5 to voice its apprehensions about the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and place our queries before it, Tejashwi said. "The ECI has not provided its replies or clarifications to us till now. Its office in Bihar works just like a post office and has no right to answer our questions. They issued three different directions yesterday indicating that it is confused about SIR."
Attacking the ECI further, the RJD leader said that the poor people of Bihar did not possess them, and instead had the Aadhaar card, MGNREGA card, and ration card, which were not being accepted under SIR. Such a situation indicated that their names would be struck off from the electoral rolls.
"This step by the ECI is an attack on democracy. Its directions are contradictory and create doubts among the people. Aadhaar is accepted while making new Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), but is not being included in SIR. Attempts are being made to provide benefits to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) through it," the RJD leader added.
Tejashwi, who happens to be the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, sought details about the four volunteers that the ECI has provided to the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to assist them in SIR.
"Who are these volunteers? What are their qualifications and how they have been chosen? Nothing is clear about them. Their identities should be made public. The Commission said on June 28 that 1 lakh volunteers were being used in the exercise, but later increased their number to 4 lakh on July 3,"
Tejashwi said.
The RJD leader asserted that around 4 crore people of Bihar were staying for work in other states and return during festivals and elections. “Does the ECI wants to cut their names from the electoral rolls,” he asked.
Votebandi allegations
The CPIML, which is the third largest party in Mahagathbandhan with 12 MLAs, compared the SIR exercise with notebandi (demonetisation) and called it votebandi (disenfranchisement) of the poor.
"There is controversy on the entire process of SIR, including its deadline and documents. The motive if the ECI is not clear. Voters were added to the electoral rolls in Maharashtra to help the NDA, while the objective in Bihar seems to remove them in a bid to help it," CPIML Bihar secretary Kunal (goes by one name) said.
Kunal added that the Supreme Court had said in one of its judgment of 1995 that the ECI cannot seek the proof of citizenship from anybody, but its opposite was being done in the name of SIR.
Special Intensive Revision and the documents being sought
The SIR began on June 25, but the Bihar government officials began distributing enumeration forms on June 28. The verification and submission of forms is to be completed by July 26, but the entire exercise will end on September 30 with the publication of the updated electoral rolls.
Bihar has at present 7.90 crore electors of which the names of 4.96 crore were already present in the electoral rolls when the last such revision was carried out in 2003. These electors just have to verify themselves by filling the enumeration forms and submitting them.
As per the provisions of the special intensive revision, people born before July 1, 1987, will have to submit any document establishing their own date and place of birth.
However, the younger people born between July 1, 1987 and December 2, 2004, will have to submit documents to prove their own date and place of birth along with similar documents of one of their parents. Those born after December 2, 2004, will have to submit evidence of the date and place of birth of themselves and both their parents.
The following 11 documents are being sought from such voters:
- Any identity card or pension payment order issued to a regular or retired employee or pensioner of any public sector unit (PSU) belonging to the central or the state government.
- Any identity card or certificate or document issued by the government or local authorities or banks or post office or LIC or PSUs prior to July 1, 1987.
- Birth certificates issued by competent authorities
- Passports
- Matriculation or educational certificates issued by recognised boards or universities
- Permanent residence certificates issued by competent authorities
- Forest rights certificates issued to dwellers
- Caste certificates issued by competent authorities to the Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), or any other people.
- National Register of Citizens (NRC), wherever it exists
- Family register prepared by state or local authorities
- Any land or house allotment certificate by the government
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