By Arun Srivastava
Reminiscent of the three-day Bihar bandh in 1974, observed at the call of Jayprakash Narayan, after fifty years, Bihar on July 9 witnessed unprecedented bandh in the form of Chakkabandh, at the call of INDIA bloc against the designs of the Election Commission to declare the huge population of around 3 crore Dalits, poor and minorities as stateless people.
Notwithstanding the appeal of the INDIA bloc and other opposition parties to reconsider its move to implement the draconian scheme, the Chief Election Commissioner has been adamant to abide by the instructions of the centre to carry out Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state and seize the nationality of the poor and proletariat Biharis. The INDIA bloc leaders pointed out to the CEC that 70 per cent of the Biharis are poor, Dalits and proletariat. Out of these around 74 live in thatched huts. These people do not have any document to comply to the EC directive to prove their nationality.
The EC is also not willing to accept the Aadhaar Card as the proof of their existence. Eventually in absence of any document they face the threat of being declared as foreigners and anti-Indians. The INDIA leaders also sought a clarification from EC that under which constitutional provision it was asking the people to prove their nationality. This is not the constitutional right of the EC, which is only supposed to enroll the name of the voters and update it time to time. The INDIA leaders see it as an attempt of Modi to implement agenda of implementing NRC, which originally aimed at taking away the nationality of the crores of Muslims.
The deep conspiratorial move over implementing the SIR in Bihar made the INDIA bloc allies, Congress, CPI, CPI(M),CPI(ML) and RJD to expose centre’s machinations and take it head on. The urgency and also the intensity of the centre’s design could be visualised from the simple fact the entire galaxy of the INDIA bloc leaders have descended on the streets of Bihar. This is for the first time Rahul Gandhi came to Bihar to participate in any movement. Rahul, Tejashvi Yadav, Dipankar Bhattacharya, D Raja and other leaders were the vanguards of the rally that marched on the streets on Patna in protest against the draconian design.
The Bihar bandh and Chakka Jam have virtually paralysed the entire Bihar. Reports pouring in from across the state, indicate that the peoples’ response had been spontaneous. Unlike during the past strikes, the agitators did not have to assert or appeal to the people to come to streets. Even in the areas where the senior BJP leaders reside, the people came forward to raise their voice. All the bridges on Ganga which connected south Bihar with North Bihar were shut. They wore a deserted look. Ironically a section of the national media blamed the INDIA bloc for creating problems for the commuters and passengers, notwithstanding the agitators had announced their agitational programmes at least a week back.
Lambasting the EC, RJD leader Tejashvi said: “EC has become an extended wing of a political party. The Gujaratis were out to destroy India. They have taken upon themselves the right to decide who will vote. The EC has completely lost its credibility. It has launched a massive exercise to delete the names of poor, Dalits and proletariats from voters list”. He cautioned the next move of the Modi government would be to snatch their pension and ration.
In some places the agitators made the bonfire of the EC orders describing it as symbol of autocratic rule. They asked Modi to explain that how could the people who were nationalist till 2024 Lok Sabha election turn foreigners just ahead of Bihar assembly election? State president of Congress said if CEC Gyanesh Kumar had the definite information of enrolment of foreigners in the voters’ list, he should have launched the SIR before Lok Sabha election. His move smacks of a conspiracy.
No doubt Chakka Jam affected normal life across the state. Reports from districts across the state say protestors have halted several long-route trains at different railway stations, blocked national highways, burned tyres, and blocked roads. Bihar bandh and Chakka Jam coincided with the call of Bharat Bandh by 10 central trade unions and their affiliates across India to demand minimum wage and a new labour code. Congress sources maintain that Rahul may visit the family of businessman Gopal Khemka, who was shot dead outside his house in Patna on July 4. The murder has triggered a political uproar, with the Opposition targeting the state government over law and order.
A sample survey shows that the very principle of universal adult franchise is in danger of being undermined by the way EC’s special intensive revision exercise is being conducted. Meanwhile for three days (July 5-7), volunteers of the Bharat Jodo Abhiyaan travelled to eight districts and collected information about 709 potential voters. They carried a copy of the latest electoral rolls of 2025 as well as the electoral rolls of 2003 for the relevant booth. They conducted interviews with 163 households and asked them about supply of the enumeration forms and the availability of the documents required for enrolment as per the ECI order for each adult member of the household.
During the survey it got revealed that contrary to the clams of the EC, two thirds of people have not received the enumeration forms till the 13th day of the SIR. Of the 163 families which were interviewed only 43 per cent of families said to have received. EC on July 5 had claimed to have distributed forms to 94 per cent of the persons. The poor, Dalit, EBC, proletariats, Muslims and women have been worst affected. These people have Aadhaar card, for getting jobs under NREGA. The sources also maintain that middlemen have been extorting money as the poor out of fear have rushed to the Block office and paying a huge amount, in some cases more than Rs 5000 to get the documents. They are obtaining these money as loan from the middle men at exorbitant rate of interest. (IPA Service)
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