INDIA bloc leaders will gather for a dinner meeting on Thursday. Hosted by Leader of Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi, they plan to chalk out a joint strategy on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and discuss fielding a joint candidate for the Vice-Presidential elections scheduled for September 9.
The dinner will be followed by a protest march to the Election Commission’s (EC) office in New Delhi the following day. The INDIA bloc parties plan to demonstrate against the ongoing SIR exercise in Bihar that they allege could allow the manipulation of electoral rolls and which, according to them, bypasses the constitutional role of the poll panel.
The Congress has been facing flak from several INDIA bloc leaders for not taking the initiative to keep the alliance together. The top leaders of the coalition had last met for a structured meeting at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s home in New Delhi a day after the Lok Sabha election results. The upcoming meeting is being viewed as a crucial moment that could allow the alliance to regroup.
The Congress seems to be finally realising that the Congress can rally Opposition parties — for a prolonged Parliament disruption or a campaign — only on issues of immediate concern to them. This is in contrast to a couple of sessions ago, when the party found itself almost isolated after it forced Parliament disruption over bribery allegations against industrialist Gautam Adani in the US.
The Congress and its allies again find themselves on the same page. While almost all of these parties had demanded convening a special session of Parliament to discuss the Pahalgam terror attack and Operation Sindoor, it was the EC’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar that actually alarmed them. Even when the government agreed to discuss Operation Sindoor in the House, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which was also keen on a debate, felt the Opposition should have extracted an assurance from the government that the SIR would also be debated.
For many of the Opposition parties, it is the prospect of a nationwide electoral roll revision that is of key concern. And that is what is uniting them. “Special Intensive Revision is a very serious issue…The EC, by way of revising the electoral rolls, is disqualifying many people from having their voting rights. In a country like India, fair and free elections have to be ensured… Asking to prove citizenship is not within the boundaries of the EC… Today it has started in Bihar, tomorrow it will be Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and all other parts of India… Opposition party voters will be deprived of voting,” senior DMK leader Tiruchi Siva said.
Manoj C G breaks down in the latest Capital Column, a weekly tracker on the BJP and Opposition
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the MS Swaminathan Centenary International Conference in Delhi early Thursday.
He will also address the gathering on the occasion.
“The theme of the conference “Evergreen Revolution, The Pathway to Biohappiness” reflects Prof. Swaminathan’s lifelong dedication to ensuring food for all. The conference will provide an opportunity to scientists, policymakers, development professionals, and other stakeholders to discuss and deliberate on furthering the principles of ‘Evergreen Revolution’,” a press release notes.