New Delhi, August 12 — Striking a combative tone amid the escalating storm over Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Congress MP and Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Pramod Tiwari on Tuesday launched a blistering attack on both the government and the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing them of undermining democratic rights and failing to safeguard electoral integrity.

Speaking to journalists,Pramod Tiwari asserted that the controversy transcends political rivalry, describing it as “a battle to protect the most sacred right enshrined in our Constitution — the right to vote.”

In an extraordinary show of unity, he emphasized, more than 300 Members of Parliament had taken to the streets for the first time in India’s history to appeal directly to the ECI to ensure that citizens’ voting rights are not stripped away.

The Congress leader condemned what he called the government’s heavy-handed tactics, claiming that opposition MPs intending to stage a peaceful protest were met with barricades, forcibly detained, and taken to police stations. “This makes it evident,” Tiwari said, “that there is a deliberate attempt to crush democratic values.”

Calling the government’s stance “borderline authoritarian,” he warned that silencing elected representatives who seek to defend people’s constitutional rights marks a dangerous precedent.

Tiwari demanded that the Election Commission demonstrate neutrality and commission an independent investigation into alleged fraudulent entries and irregularities in the voter lists linked to the Bihar SIR process.

“If the government can prevent even MPs from voicing legitimate concerns about protecting citizens’ rights, then democracy itself is under serious threat,” he cautioned.

The remarks come amid intensifying opposition protests within and outside Parliament, with the SIR controversy fast emerging as a flashpoint in the ongoing Monsoon Session.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar