The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday turned a typographical slip into a political attack, ridiculing the opposition INDIA bloc for a spelling error on a protest banner displayed in the Parliament premises. The opposition had gathered to protest the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a threat to democratic processes.
The banner in question read, “SIR – loktantar par vaar” (attack on democracy), but the spelling of “loktantra” (democracy) was erroneously written as “loktantar.” This gave BJP an opening to lampoon the opposition for alleged carelessness and a poor grasp of language even while claiming to defend the Constitution.
Taking to social media platform X, BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya commented in Hindi, “It’s loktantra, not loktantar,” accusing the opposition of giving democracy lessons while failing to spell the term correctly.
The BJP’s official handle also tweeted a picture of the opposition protest with the caption: “Those who do not know how to write ‘loktantra’ have come out to give lessons on democracy.”
Parliament Protest Led by Congress
The protest at the Parliament’s Makar Dwar was led by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, along with other INDIA bloc leaders. Slogans such as “Save democracy” and “Stop vote-bandi” were raised to condemn what the opposition termed an “undemocratic voter disenfranchisement” drive under the guise of electoral roll revision.
The INDIA bloc has claimed that the EC’s SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar is designed to selectively erase voter names, particularly those from marginalized and minority communities. They have demanded an immediate halt and full transparency in the revision process.
BJP Responds with Satire and Sharp Critique
Doubling down on the linguistic jibe, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla wrote on X,
“Can’t blame Congress. They can neither spell nor save ‘loktantra.’ They believe in Parivar Tantra and Emergency! Surely, they can spell and save that.”
The BJP has also linked the opposition’s protest to its legacy of dynastic politics, alleging that the Congress is uncomfortable with a transparent and accountable electoral process.
Opposition Unfazed, Calls Out BJP’s Diversion
Sources within the INDIA bloc shrugged off the spelling error as a non-issue and accused the BJP of focusing on trivialities to deflect from the real debate—what they allege is an “undemocratic attempt to purge the electorate in Bihar.”
The controversy comes as the political temperature rises ahead of Bihar’s upcoming assembly elections, with both sides trying to capture the narrative on democratic integrity.
