"Chunav Aayog or Churao Aayog?" Jairam Ramesh’s Fiery Charge
Opposition MPs stopped, detained during EC protest march.
High drama unfolded outside Parliament on Monday as a united Opposition march to the Election Commission’s headquarters was blocked by police, sparking sharp accusations from Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh that democracy was being “assaulted and murdered” in full public view. The march, involving MPs from various opposition parties, was intended as a peaceful demonstration against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, which they allege is a ploy for large-scale ‘vote chori’.
According to Ramesh, the plan was straightforward — all opposition MPs would walk together to Nirvachan Sadan and hand over a memorandum outlining their concerns over the SIR and related issues. “We didn’t ask for a delegation, we wanted to go together as MPs, hand over the memorandum collectively, and leave. Now we are not even allowed to reach the Election Commission office. Right in front of Parliament, democracy is being murdered,” Ramesh told PTI, calling the EC’s response “too clever” and “cheeky”. In a pointed remark, he quipped, “Chunav Aayog is Chunav Aayog, it cannot be ‘churao aayog’.”
The protest march barely made it past Parliament Street before a wall of police personnel stopped it in its tracks. Buses were already stationed nearby, and soon after being halted, the MPs were detained and taken away. All were later released. The move, however, intensified Opposition anger, with leaders slamming the government and the Election Commission for stifling dissent.
Also Read: Opposition MPs Stopped During March to Election Commission
Ramesh had earlier written to the EC informing them of the march and requesting that the entire group of MPs be allowed to meet the Commission to discuss the Bihar SIR and other pressing electoral concerns. In his letter, he stressed that such a meeting would be “in keeping with the highest tradition of our parliamentary democracy.”
Opposition parties have been vocally protesting in both Houses of Parliament against the ongoing SIR, claiming that it is designed to disenfranchise voters ahead of Bihar’s assembly elections later this year. They have demanded an urgent debate in Parliament, but with no breakthrough in sight, the showdown between the Opposition, the EC, and the government is only intensifying.
Also Read: 300 Opposition MPs Plan Parliament-to-EC March, Police Deny Permission
