Owaisi Warns Youth Against Reels Addiction, Links It to Electoral Roll Revision in Bihar

All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday cautioned young people against excessive consumption of social media reels, warning that such habits “destroy brains” and hinder personal development. He also linked the issue to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.

Addressing a gathering in Hyderabad, Owaisi urged the youth to read newspapers instead of endlessly scrolling through short-form videos. “You can’t become leaders, doctors, engineers, or scientists if you waste time watching reels. It only damages your mind and wastes your time,” he said.

Owaisi raised concerns about the implications of being uninformed during the electoral revision process, questioning how youth who are “lost in reels” would be able to respond to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) visiting homes during the SIR process.

He criticized the revision exercise, claiming it has led to people being wrongly labeled as foreigners. “What is happening in Bihar in the name of intensive revision? Many people are being called Bangladeshi, Nepali, or from Myanmar. If a BLO comes to you, how will you answer their questions?” he asked.

The Election Commission’s SIR initiative in Bihar has stirred controversy, with Owaisi accusing the poll body of overstepping its mandate. “Who gave the Election Commission the power to determine someone’s citizenship? Our party was the first to call SIR an NRC (National Register of Citizens) through the back door,” he said, as quoted by ANI.

Owaisi also demanded that the EC release data from the last time a similar exercise was conducted in 2003. “We want to know how many foreign nationals were found then. We’ll ask our party members to meet BLOs and ask them to show us where these people from Nepal, Myanmar, and Bangladesh are,” he said.

According to the Election Commission, around 86.32% of enumeration forms have been collected so far, with the final round of door-to-door verification to be conducted soon.