Rabri Devi leads black attire protest over SIR in Bihar Assembly.

Patna, July 22, 2025: The monsoon session of the Bihar Legislature witnessed high drama as opposition leaders led by former CM Rabri Devi protested outside the Bihar Legislative Council.

The opposition leaders have created a ruckus in both houses over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections.

Rabri Devi leads a protest in the legislative council:

Before the proceedings of the Legislative Council, Leader of Opposition Rabri Devi arrived wearing a black sari, leading Grand Alliance MLCs who also wore black clothes in protest.

The opposition leaders raised slogans while holding placards with messages such as, “Stop trying to usurp the election and SIR is an excuse, the purpose is to ban voting.”

“The double-engine government and Election Commission are using voter list revision to rig elections and suppress the votes of backward classes,” Rabri Devi said.

The opposition also created a ruckus in the Assembly, forcing the speaker to adjourn proceedings until 2 PM.

Deputy CM Samrat Choudhary responds:

Reacting to the protests, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary dismissed the allegations.

“The Election Commission has made it clear that the name of any poor, backward, Dalit, or general category citizen is not being removed,” Choudhary said.

He provided data stating that about 98% of voters have participated in the re-verification process.

The exercise has identified 19 lakh deceased voters, 20 lakh citizens who have migrated, and 8 lakh voters with duplicate registrations.

“The process is transparent and will be completed by July 26, after which a draft voter list will be released. All parties can file objections,” he said.

Taking a jibe at the opposition, Samrat Choudhary said, “Shani (Saturn) has dominated them, that is why they are roaming around wearing black clothes.”

He also countered the narrative on voter scrutiny by recalling that in 1990, leaders had spoken about expelling Bangladeshis, and in 2005, Mamata Banerjee had raised similar concerns in the Lok Sabha.

He added, “When more than 120% Aadhar cards are being seen in Kishanganj, it must be investigated.”

On Nitish Kumar as Vice President:

Responding to speculation around CM Nitish Kumar being considered for the Vice President’s post after Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation, Samrat Choudhary said, this decision will be taken by the BJP and NDA leadership.”

Also Read: Nitish Kumar and Rabri Devi were involved in a heated debate over law and order in the Bihar Legislative Council.

EOM.