Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Sunday trained his guns on Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of the special intensive revision (SIR) or the electoral roll revision in Bihar. Gandhi, who was holding a rally in Bihar's Araria with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, accused PM Modi of wanting to steal the votes of the poor in Bihar. Targeting the Election Commission, Gandhi further alleged a "partnership" between the poll body, the Election Commissioner and BJP.

"We will not allow the EC to steal votes in Bihar. The poll panel is working for the benefit of the BJP. The SIR is an institutionalised attempt by the EC to steal votes in the upcoming assembly polls in the state to help the saffron party," said the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha.

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Rahul Gandhi raised the issue of unemployment and hit out at the BJP-led Centre for allegedly "shutting all opportunities" for the poor and the youth. "The Narendra Modi government, after privatising public sector units, now wants to steal votes of the poor through the SIR with the help of the Election Commission," he alleged. The Congress leader assured the people of Araria that the INDIA bloc would not let Centre's alleged plan to succeed in Bihar.

The Congress leader dubbed the Bihar SIR as "vote theft" and said it was against the Constitution. "The Constitution guarantees equal rights to every citizen of the country... the SIR is anti-constitutional. People of Bihar will give a befitting reply to the BJP and its allies in the assembly polls," he said.

ALSO READ: Bihar Voter List: EC Says Documents Of 98.2% Electors Received In SIR Exercise, Over 1.2 Lakh Objections Raised

Rahul, Tejashwi Ride Bikes: Watch Video

Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav reached Araria on motorcycles as the Mahagathbandhan's 'Voter Adhikar Yatra' entered the city in Purnea district. Started from Sasaram on August 17, the 1,300-km yatra of the Grand Alliance in Bihar will cover more than 20 districts over a period of 16 days. The yatra will conclude with a rally in Patna on September 1.

EC Receives Documents Of 98.2% Bihar Voters

The Election Commission on Sunday said that 98.2 per cent electors submitted their documents over a period of 60 days between June 24 and August 24. "This means an average of about 1.64 per cent per day. There are still eight days to go till September 1 with just 1.8 per cent electors remaining for submission of the documents," it said.

The Bihar electoral roll revision is set to conclude soon and only eight days are left for people to file claims and objections. The final Bihar electoral rolls will be published on September 30.

The Bihar SIR exercise faced several pleas challenging its constitutional validity in the Supreme Court, which refused to stop the exercise, but directed the poll authority to accept Aadhaar as proof for verification of voters. The Election Commission has listed 11 other documents as proof as Bihar prepares to go to polls later this year.