New Delhi: A “124-year-old” woman from Bihar’s Siwan district, Minta Devi has become the face of the INDIA bloc’s protest raising “vote chori” (vote theft) allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the poll body’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
On Tuesday, several Opposition MPs, including Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, wore T-shirts with Minta Devi’s name and face printed on the front, and “124 Not Out” written on the back.
The protest, held in front of Parliament’s Makar Dwar, saw participation from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chair Sonia Gandhi, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule, among others. Opposition leaders have for several days been demanding a discussion on Bihar’s SIR.
A search of Devi’s Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number on the ECI website shows her age as 124 years.
Posting about it on X, Congress leader Pawan Khera took a jibe, saying Devi should be nominated for inclusion in the Guinness World Records, which lists Ethel Caterham, a British woman, as the oldest woman in the world at 115 years of age.
“We proudly nominate Minta Devi for the Guinness World Record: THE YOUNGEST-LOOKING OLDEST HUMAN in India — courtesy the several miracles of @ECISVEEP. Waah Modiji Waah #VoteChori,” Khera wrote, attaching screenshots of her voter information on the ECI website, as well as her name in the electoral roll, which also has her picture.
We proudly nominate Minta Devi for the Guinness World Record: THE YOUNGEST LOOKING OLDEST HUMAN in India — courtesy the several miracles of @ECISVEEP
Waah Modiji Waah #VoteChori pic.twitter.com/WrReu6R98k— Pawan Khera 🇮🇳 (@Pawankhera) August 12, 2025
Congress MP KC Venugopal also joined in, writing on X, “The ECI has done a great service to humankind! They discovered the oldest living human, Smt. Minta Devi, whose age is listed as 124 years in the Bihar SIR!”
The Election Commission has done a great service to humankind! They discovered the oldest living human, Smt. Minta Devi, whose age is listed as 124 years in the Bihar SIR!
The mega voter fraud done by the ECI can never be allowed. INDIA will keep protesting until it is stopped. pic.twitter.com/0FtLeDvh8k
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) August 12, 2025
“The mega voter fraud done by the ECI can never be allowed. INDIA will keep protesting until it is stopped,” he added.
On Monday, several Opposition MPs, including Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, were detained during a protest march from Parliament to the ECI headquarters at Nirvachan Sadan and taken to the Parliament Street Police Station. The MPs were protesting against the Bihar SIR, among other issues.
While the Opposition insisted that all MPs be allowed to meet the ECI together, the Commission agreed to meet a delegation of 30 leaders from opposition parties, citing lack of space in its headquarters.
Earlier last week, Rahul Gandhi held a press conference alleging that the ECI was “colluding” with the BJP to “steal” elections. Chief Electoral Officers of several states have since asked Gandhi to provide a formal oath supporting his claims.
(Edited by Shashank Kishan)
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