The Opposition INDIA bloc MPs staged a protest at the Parliament complex on Tuesday, wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan “Minta Devi 124 Not Out.” This demonstration was aimedat highlighting alleged irregularities in the voter list revision conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar ahead of the upcoming elections.
Who is Minta Devi
The name “Minta Devi” grabbed headlines after the ECI completed its special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, a poll-bound state. According to data cited by the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Minta Devi is listed as a 124-year-old first-time voter from the Daraundha Assembly seat under the Siwan Lok Sabha constituency. Her registered address is the Kanya Utkramit Madhya Vidyalaya in Arjaanipur.
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Congress leader Pawan Khera took to social media, sarcastically nominating Minta Devi for the Guinness World Record as “the youngest looking oldest human in India,” highlighting the “miracles” performed by the Election Commission in their voter list revision. This name surfaced amid Rahul Gandhi’s claims of widespread voter list manipulation and fraud in Bihar.
To put this in perspective, the oldest living person officially recorded is Ethel Caterham from Surrey, UK, who was recently acknowledged by the BBC as being 115 years old, soon to celebrate her 116th birthday on August 21. In comparison, Minta Devi’s date of birth is listed as July 15, 1900, making her allegedly 124 years old, a claim that has raised eyebrows and questions about the credibility of the voter lists.
Congress MP K.C. Venugopal slammed the Election Commission for what he called a “mega voter fraud” and lauded the discovery of Minta Devi as a “great service to humankind” in a sarcastic tone. Venugopal vowed that the Opposition INDIA bloc would continue protesting until such alleged fraud is stopped.
The protest came just a day after many Opposition parliamentarians were stopped by police from marching to the Election Commission’s office at Nirvachan Sadan in Delhi to submit complaints regarding the electoral roll revision.
Congress MP Manickam Tagore described the case of Minta Devi as more than just a clerical error, calling it clear proof of large-scale voter fraud. When asked about Minta Devi during the protest, Rahul Gandhi replied, “Picture abhi baaki hai” (There is more to come), suggesting that more revelations are expected.
Meanwhile, NDTV reporters traced the real Minta Devi in Bihar and found that she had mistakenly written 1900 as her birth year instead of 1990 on her voter registration form. However, questions remain about how such an obvious error could still appear in the official draft electoral roll after a revision exercise aimed at cleaning up voter lists.
The controversy surrounding Minta Devi has intensified the political debate on electoral integrity in Bihar and raised concerns over the Election Commission’s handling of the voter verification process ahead of the elections. The Opposition INDIA bloc continues to demand a thorough investigation and transparency to prevent voter fraud and ensure free and fair elections.