Tejashwi slams ECI amid Bihar Bandh, calls it 'wing of political party'

Amid the Bihar Bandh protests, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav on Wednesday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI) over its decision to revise the electoral rolls, accusing it of acting as a "wing of a political party."

Speaking with ANI, Yadav said, "The Election Commission has become a wing of a political party... Will two people from Gujarat decide which Bihari voter can vote and which cannot?"

He further alleged that the ECI has lost its credibility and accused it of preparing to exclude poor people from the voter list systematically.

"The Election Commission has lost its credibility. Preparations are going on a large scale to remove the names of poor people from the voter list. First, their names are being removed, then their pensions and their rations will also be taken away," Yadav claimed. 

Tejashwi Yadav, along with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, is set to join the INDIA bloc's protest in Patna against the voter list revision exercise in poll-bound Bihar.

Congress leader Shakeel Ahmed also criticised the ECI and the ruling NDA, claiming they are causing hardship to the public.

"You can see that people are taking our call for protest seriously. The ruling parties, along with the Election Commission, are troubling the public. There are many questions - was the vote of those who exercised their franchise in the 2024 elections not valid? The current government will not be able to continue," he said.

Meanwhile, as part of the Bihar Bandh, Congress workers blocked roads and staged protests in Patna. In one instance, workers laid down on the road to prevent vehicles from passing.

"We will keep doing this until the government accepts our demands. We will fight to the extent our leadership says... The ruling party is only trying to confuse the people," a Congress worker said. 

Another added, "Entire Bihar has been successfully shut down. The Mahagathbandhan is united against the rigging done by the Election Commission... We will not get up even if a car runs over us."

Leaders of the INDIA bloc also burned tyres and blocked roads at the Maner Assembly stretch of National Highway 30 in Patna district as part of the protest.