New Delhi, India- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly criticized and mocked a protest organized by the opposition INDIA bloc on the grounds of Parliament against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The BJP’s criticism is not based on the protest’s content, but on a clear spelling mistake on its banner. The BJP took the chance to make fun of the opposition by saying that people who “can’t even spell ‘loktantra’ right are now out to teach democracy.”
The protest, which was spearheaded by well-known members of the opposition INDIA group, such as Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairman Sonia Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, brought MPs together in the Parliament House complex. They came there to say how strongly they were against the Election Commission’s (EC) ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral records in Bihar, where the polls are coming up.
“Loktantar Par Vaar”—The Mistake That Started the Joke
A big banner was put up in front of the MPs who were protesting on the steps of Parliament’s Makar Dwar. The sign said “SIR – loktantar par vaar,” which means “attack on democracy.” The leaders also screamed slogans like “Stop vote-bandi” and “Save democracy” as they stood in line.
The ruling BJP swiftly noticed that “loktantra” (democracy) was spelled wrong as “loktantar.” Amit Malviya, who is in charge of the BJP’s IT department, didn’t spend any time making fun of the other party. Malviya shared his concern on X (previously Twitter) and pointed out the mistake in Hindi by saying, “It’s loktantra, not loktantar.”
The BJP’s official Twitter account also uploaded a picture of the protest and directly attacked the opposition by saying, “Those who don’t know how to write ‘loktantra’ have come out to teach democracy.”
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla added to the criticism by singling out the Congress party and said that it is more in line with dynasty politics and tyranny than true democracy. “Can’t blame Congress.” They can’t spell or save “loktantra.” They believe in both Parivar Tantra and Emergency! “Surely, they can spell and save that,” he wrote on X, making the political fight even more intense.
Protests Against Bihar SIR Continue
Even if the BJP is trying to change the subject, the major cause for the INDIA bloc’s protest is still the current Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar. Opposition parties have been protesting this exercise in both Houses of Parliament for a long time. They say that the Election Commission started the SIR on purpose to keep people in Bihar from being able to vote in the next assembly elections. The opposition is calling for a full discussion on this claim, which has caused major problems in parliamentary processes.