No formal request for INDIA Bloc march from Parliament to EC: Delhi Police

Senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said the INDIA bloc MPs had marched from the Parliament to the Election Commission's office last monday to protest the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar

The Delhi Police stated that no permission has been sought so far for the proposed march by the INDIA Bloc from Parliament to the Election Commission on Monday.

The coalition of opposition parties had announced plans to stage a protest march, but police officials confirmed that they had not received any formal request or application regarding the protest. 

 

Meanwhile, on Sunday, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said that the INDIA bloc MPs had marched from the Parliament to the Election Commission's office on Monday to protest the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and allegations of "voter fraud" during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

 

At a press conference, Digvijaya Singh alleged that all the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were filling out "fake forms" in one room. 

 

He stated, "Rahul Gandhi put forward such facts that no one could deny... The name of one person appeared at multiple locations, including polling booths... Rahul Gandhi's demand was for electronic data of the voter list, which could be scanned using software to determine how many votes were cast on a single EPIC number... The reason for the SIR happening in Bihar was questioned. It had been thoroughly tested in 2003, which took 2 years in Bihar, but this time they wanted to do it in 1 month..."

He added, "All the BLOs were filling out fake forms in one room. The Election Commission said that so many people had died, but their list was not provided... And MPs of the entire INDIA alliance, from all parties except the BJP and NDA alliance MPs, had marched from the Parliament to the Election Commission's office..." 

 

On August 1, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju said the government was ready to hold discussions on any issue under the rules, but the SIR could not be debated as it was a process carried out by a constitutional body--the Election Commission of India.

"I want to clarify that the government is ready to hold discussions on any issue as per the rules. There cannot be a discussion on SIR because it is a process undertaken by a Constitutional body, and it is not happening for the first time..." Rijiju told ANI.