The All India People’s Forum (AIPF) organized the Comrade Swapna Mukherjee Memorial Lecture Series on the theme “Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar: An Assault on the Electoral Process” on 7 September in Chandigarh. The event was addressed by CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Comrade Dipankar Bhattacharya, with Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla, General Secretary of RMPI and Prof. Kuldeep Singh of Guru Nanak Dev University in the presidium. Comrade Kanwaljeet Singh conducted the proceedings.
In his keynote address, Comrade Dipankar warned that the SIR exercise in Bihar marks the beginning of an organised attempt to strip people of their rights. He noted that when opposition parties raised concerns with the Election Commission, the Commission’s response echoed the BJP’s position. “In Bihar, nearly 65 lakh voters are being targeted for deletion from the rolls ahead of elections,” he said. Drawing parallels with Maharashtra, where large-scale voter suppression had already taken place, he stressed: “Vote thieves must be removed from power. If not, they will use the Constitution itself to deny the poor and minorities their citizenship and their right to vote.”
Addressing the gathering, Comrade Mangat Ram Pasla pointed out that the BJP government at the Centre has captured constitutional institutions and is seeking to push the country back into an era where Dalits and oppressed communities are reduced to bondage. He announced that a campaign would also be launched in Punjab to expose this dangerous conspiracy.
The seminar also featured contributions from senior comrades Inderjit Singh Grewal of RMPI, Purshottam Sharma of the AIKM, Ruldu Singh Mansa of the Punjab Kisan Union, Prof. Lallan Baghel from Panjab University, Chandigarh, veteran comrade Ajaib Singh Tiwana, Advocate Vipin Kumar, and Comrade Lal Bahadur, Secretary, CPI(ML), Chandigarh.
