Bihar woman slams Oppn MPs’ ‘Minta Devi 124 Not Out' t-shirt protest for misusing her identity

Several oppositions MPs, earlier in the day, wore T-shirts bearing the words 'Minta Devi', '124 Not Out' along with a picture emblazoned on them. They claimed that Minta Devi is a "124-year-old first-time voter" whose name was found on the Bihar voters' list.

Speaking to ANI, Minta Devi asked who gave the opposition leaders the right to take her name and photograph.

“…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 list)…I did not get anyone’s (from 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.

The opposition is demanding a rollback of the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in the poll-bound eastern state.

"There are unlimited cases like that. Abhi picture baki hai (there is more to come)," Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said when asked about Minta Devi.

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was among those who wore the t-shirt, said there were several such cases in which addresses and names of relatives are all fake.

A poll body official defended, saying her age was changed due to an error in her application form.

Opposition MPs, including Leaders of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, have been holding protests against the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

Calling it "vote chori", they have alleged that the Election Commission's exercise is aimed at "disenfranchising voters" in Bihar ahead of the assembly elections due later this year.

This comes on a day when the Supreme Court said results of the Election Commission's ongoing 'special intensive revision' of the Bihar voter list can be set aside as late as September, two months before the Assembly election is expected in the eastern state, if illegality is proven in the process.

The assurance was provided in response to arguments about the authority of the Election Commission, which sought 11 documents from Bihar residents to re-verify their voter status.

The poll body had earlier stated that voters cannot use commonly accepted government IDs, such as the Aadhaar (and its own identity card), to establish citizenship and reverify themselves, as these are only proof of identity.

It also noted that such documents are easier to forge than those on its list.