Bihar Bandh : Rahul Gandhi Warns Election Commission: “Protect the Constitution, or Face the Law”
Patna (Bihar): Ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly Elections, opposition parties staged a massive protest on Tuesday under the banner of ‘Bihar Bandh’, opposing the Special Intensive Revision (S.I.R) of the state’s voter list. The protest saw participation from key opposition leaders including RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, CPI General Secretary D. Raja, CPI(ML) Liberation leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, and Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram.
During the protest, Rahul Gandhi launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, saying:
“I want to send a clear message from here — do whatever you want, but remember that the law will eventually catch up with you. No matter how high your office is, you will not be spared. Your job is not to work for the BJP, but to protect the Constitution of India — and you are failing to do that.”
Gandhi further accused the ruling BJP of repeating the “Maharashtra model” in Bihar:
“I am clearly telling the people of Bihar and India — the Maharashtra election was stolen, and now they are trying to steal the Bihar election using the same model. But this time we are prepared. This so-called ‘Bihar model’ is a plan to snatch votes of the poor.”
Opposition leaders described the Bihar Bandh as a battle to defend democracy, alleging that the Election Commission is acting on the directions of the ruling BJP.
Tejashwi Yadav asserted that this time, the people themselves will take to the streets to protect democracy and their right to vote.
What’s the Issue?
The controversy stems from the Special Intensive Revision (S.I.R) of Bihar’s electoral rolls. Opposition parties allege that this exercise could lead to mass deletion of names of poor, Dalit, minority, and opposition-leaning voters from the list. They claim it’s a deliberate and systematic attempt to rig the upcoming elections, calling it an election theft in the making.
Through the ‘Bihar Bandh’, the opposition has opened a direct political front ahead of the 2025 state elections. Leaders from Congress, RJD, and leftist parties have made it clear that they will not tolerate any manipulation of the voter list or undermining of democratic values.
With this, the political temperature in Bihar is expected to rise significantly in the coming weeks.
