'124-yr-old 1st-time voter' sparks uproar in Parl, Oppn holds 'T-shirt protest'

MINTA DEVI MYSTERY: EC IN OPPN CROSSHAIRS

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

NEW DELHI: Several Opposition MPs on Tuesday wore T-shirts with "Minta Devi" and her picture emblazoned on the front, and "124 Not Out" printed on the back, during a protest in the Parliament House complex against the Election Commission's voter roll revision in Bihar.

The Opposition lawmakers claimed that Minta Devi is a "124-year-old first-time voter" whose name was found on Bihar's voters' list. They demanded a rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in the poll-bound state.

"There are unlimited cases like that. Abhi picture baki hai (there is more to come)," Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said when asked about Minta Devi.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was among those wearing the T-shirt, also said there were several such cases in which addresses and names of relatives were fake. TMC's Derek O'Brien, DMK's T. R. Baalu, NCP(SP)'s Supriya Sule, as well as other Opposition MPs from the DMK and Left parties, gathered near Parliament's Makar Dwar. They held posters and raised slogans, demanding a rollback of the SIR exercise. This marked the 15th day of the protest. Opposition MPs, including Leaders of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, have been protesting against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.