Minta Devi, a Bihar resident who was allegedly listed as a 124-year-old woman on the Election Commission’s voter list, slammed those who committed the clerical error and also questioned the Opposition MPs who protested over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) by wearing T-shirts featuring her name and alleged age.

She also said that if the government really thinks she is 124-years-old, they should start extending the benefits of an old-age pension to her.

Minta Devi is a 35-year-old woman living in Bihar’s Siwan district and has been added to the state’s electoral roll for the first time years after she became eligible to cast a vote. She claimed she was born on July 15, 1990 and submitted documents supporting the same while filing papers to get herself enroled.

Her reaction came on a day when INDIA bloc MPs led by Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi protested in New Delhi against SIR in Bihar and wore T-shirts featuring a picture of Minta Devi with “124 not out” printed on them.

“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 my face? Why are they trying to act like my well-wishers over my age? This should not be done. I do not want this,” Devi fumed while speaking to ANI.

She also demanded that her age and other details in the state’s electoral data be corrected as soon as possible and the same people who committed the error be made to rectify it. “I will not submit any more documents to get this corrected as it was not me who is at fault; The officials are”.

PROTESTS AGAINST SIR

There have been widespread protests over the voter roll revision in poll-bound Bihar, with INDIA bloc parties alleging that the Election Commission was colluding with the ruling BJP by cherry-picking voters to remove their names as per their convenience.

The charges have been vehemently denied by the poll panel, who has been emphasising that complete transparency was ensured while revising the voter roll data in the state.

On Monday, while Parliament was functioning during the Monsoon Session, Opposition MPs led by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi staged a protest march to the Election Commission’s office against Bihar voter data revision, calling it an attempt to kill democracy. Several MPs were detained during the protests.

The 243-member Bihar Legislative Assembly is scheduled to go to the polls later this year, most likely in October or November.

– Ends

With agency inputs