PATNA, Aug 31: Congress media chief and senior leader Pawan Khera today said the Voter Rights Yatra of the INDIA bloc in Bihar has received overwhelming support from citizens and voters, and will conclude on September 1 with participation from representatives of all major alliance partners.
Khera told news persons here that Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut and Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Yusuf Pathan will join the final day s ceremony, completing the representation of most INDIA bloc parties in the event.
Khera challenged the Election Commission s (EC) claims that very few complaints had been filed after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list.
He asserted that nearly 89 lakh written complaints were officially submitted by 65 lakh voters.
Despite attempts by the BJP and the Commission to sideline complaints, people handed over bundles of grievances to booth-level officers. Later, the EC insisted on individual complaints,
a move clearly intended to downplay the scale of objections, he alleged.
He further said voters, particularly the poor and marginalized, suffered immense difficulties as Aadhaar cards were not accepted as valid identity documents. Instead, land deeds, residence, and caste certificates were demanded, which many did not possess.
Even block offices told citizens that fresh certificates would only be issued after elections, he noted.
Khera also accused the EC of acting with bias.
He claimed the Commission had pre-decided that 20 per cent of Bihar s voters would be struck off the rolls, leading to the deletion of 65 lakh names across 90,540 booths.
This included migrants, the deceased, those absent at their addresses, and duplicate entries. Yet even today, many voters hold two EPIC cards, many deceased remain on rolls, and genuine voters have been excluded due to document issues, he alleged.
He added that new research revealed disturbing trends, in 7,613 booths, as many as 70 per cent of the deleted names were women.
This shows how the revision process unfairly targeted women, the poor, and marginalized groups, he said.
The Congress leader also attacked the BJP over recent violence at Sadaqat Ashram, Congress headquarters in Patna, where workers allegedly led by two BJP ministers vandalized the premises.
This was not just an attack on Congress but on Bihar s legacy. Sadaqat Ashram was built by Maulana Mazharul Haque, and India s first President Dr. Rajendra Prasad spent his final days
here, he said, adding that the ideological battle between the Congress and the RSS was a century old and will continue for another hundred years.
In a sharp dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Khera said, Modi s duet with America has ended, and soon he will be seen riding an elephant again with China s top leader.
Khera warned that if no corrective action is taken after the September 1 deadline for voter list revisions, the Congress and the INDIA alliance will launch a fresh phase of their struggle. (UNI)
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