Uproar in Bihar Assembly over SIR; Tejashwi calls minister ‘Monkey’, standoff deepens

Patna: The fourth day of the monsoon session of the Bihar Legislative Assembly witnessed a massive uproar as opposition MLAs continued their protest demanding a discussion on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists.

While Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary was explaining the government’s stand on SIR, Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav interrupted, accusing him of lying repeatedly, leading to a heated exchange.

A minister stood to counter Tejashwi, prompting Tejashwi to retort, “Sit down… why do you start jumping like a monkey?”

The remark triggered angry protests from the treasury benches, with all ruling party ministers standing up in protest, stalling the proceedings.

Following the monkey comments, Cabinet Minister Prem Kumar, while interacting with the media persons outside the assembly, said that Tejashwi Yadav has used an unparliamentary word during the proceedings of the house on Thursday, and he should apologise for it.

Samrat Chaudhary stated, “About 18 lakh dead voters identified, 26 lakh identified as having migrated. The migration out of Bihar dropped from 11 per cent in 2005 to below 2 per cent now,” Chaudhary said while recalling Lalu Prasad’s 1992 statement on removing infiltrators from Bihar.

Questioning the timing and process of SIR, Tejashwi Yadav said, “If fake voters exist, does it mean every election since 2003 was fake?”

He blamed Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister since 2005) and PM Modi (in power for 11 years) for any alleged infiltrators on the voter lists.

He demanded an assurance from Chief Minister Nitish that no Bihari’s name will be removed from the list.

Tejashwi Yadav also highlighted that even JDU MPs and NDA allies like Chandrababu Naidu’s party have concerns about the SIR process.

He criticised the ECI for not accepting Aadhaar, despite its use in other government documentation.

Tejashwi, while acknowledging tensions in the House, said, “If anyone has been hurt by us or our members in the last five years, we are ready to apologise, but it should happen from both sides.”

IANS