Bihar’s Minta Devi slams INDIA bloc protest over ‘124-year-old’ voter claim

SIWAN (Bihar): A woman from Bihar’s Siwan district has criticised the Opposition MPs for using her name in their protest over alleged discrepancies in the voter list, after she was recorded as 124 years old in Election Commission (EC) records.

INDIA bloc MPs on Tuesday staged a demonstration in Parliament wearing T-shirts featuring Minta Devi’s name emblazoned with the slogan ‘124 Not Out’ to highlight errors in the electoral roll.

Reacting to the protest, Minta Devi said that she learned about the issue only a few days ago and rejected the Opposition’s use of her name and age for political purposes.

#WATCH | INDIA bloc MPs protested over SIR today by wearing T-shirts featuring the name Minta Devi, a voter allegedly listed as 124 years old in the EC’s voter list.

In Siwan, Bihar, Minta Devi says, “…I came to know about this 2-4 days back…Who are they (Opposition MPs) to… pic.twitter.com/DiTUmvQXUj

— ANI (@ANI) August 12, 2025

“I came to know about this 2-4 days back… Who are they (Opposition MPs) to me? Who is Priyanka Gandhi or Rahul Gandhi to me? Who gave them the right to wear T-shirts featuring me?… I think there are discrepancies (in the list)… I did not get anyone’s (from the administration) phone call… Why are they becoming my well-wisher over my age?… This should not be done, I do not want this…” she said.

“I want my details to be corrected… Whoever entered the details, did they do so with their eyes closed?… If I am 124 years old in the eyes of the government, why are they not giving me old age pension? My Aadhaar card mentions 15-07-1990 as my date of birth”, she added.

Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday criticised the Election Commission of India, alleging that it has failed to uphold the principle of ‘One Man, One Vote’, which he described as the foundation of the Constitution.

Gandhi further accused the ECI of neglecting its duty, asserting that the Congress party is committed to protecting the Constitution and will continue to do. “We are protecting the Constitution. One Man One Vote is the foundation of the Constitution. It is the duty of the Election Commission to enforce One Man, One Vote, but they have not done their duty. We are protecting the Constitution, and we will keep doing it…”

Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge joined fellow INDIA bloc members in staging a protest in Parliament over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue. Several Opposition MPs arrived wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan ‘124 Not Out’.

CPI(M) MP P Sandosh Kumar said the opposition intends to intensify its campaign, ” INDIA parties’ leaders are more energised and this has become an all-India campaign. We will intensify our fight against SIR. There is more unity among the coalition partners now. This will be a huge fight to save democracy…”

Prominent leaders such as Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), MP Supriya Sule, and DMK MP Kanimozhi were seen holding onions during the protest. (ANI)