The BJP has stepped up its political offensive against the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC) and other INDIA bloc partners over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing them of attempting to protect illegal infiltrators by opposing the exercise. Taking the controversy to Meghalaya, BJP North East Joint Co-ordinator Rajiv Babbar questioned whether the people of the state wanted a Chief Minister elected with the support of foreign nationals, alleging that opposition parties were resisting the removal of alleged infiltrators from electoral rolls for political gains. His remarks have brought the politically sensitive issue of illegal immigration and electoral integrity into the state’s political discourse, with the BJP seeking to turn the SIR debate into a larger question of who should have the right to elect India’s representatives.
Addressing the media as part of the BJP’s Loktantra Bachao, Aarakshak Hatao campaign, Babbar accused the Congress of spreading misinformation about the SIR exercise, arguing that it was a constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission under Article 324 and not a political initiative of the BJP. He claimed that SIR had been conducted 12 times in the country, including during periods when the Congress was in power, and challenged the opposition to explain its objections to the exercise.
Addressing the media as part of the BJP’s Loktantra Bachao, Aarakshak Hatao campaign, Babbar accused the Congress of spreading misinformation about the SIR exercise, arguing that it was a constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission under Article 324 and not a political initiative of the BJP. He claimed that SIR had been conducted 12 times in the country, including during periods when the Congress was in power, and challenged the opposition to explain its objections to the exercise.
Questioning Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc’s allegations concerning 13 crore voters, Babbar cited deaths, duplicate entries and migration as reasons for changes in electoral rolls. He alleged that opposition parties, including the Congress and TMC, were attempting to shield infiltrators who could not establish their eligibility during the verification process. Directly challenging the opposition, he said, “Please come forward and tell to the people of this country that you want Bangladeshis or you want a foreigner to be part of our constitution system.”
Taking the issue to Meghalaya, Babbar asked, “And I want to ask even the people of Meghalaya, are we keen to make our chief minister with the help of the voters of foreign country? No. Meghalaya people want to elect his or her chief minister by their own vote, not by the infiltrators.”
He further alleged that Congress, TMC and other INDIA bloc partners had worked over the years to bring infiltrators onto electoral rolls and were now opposing the SIR process as such names were being scrutinised.
Babbar also rejected allegations that changes had been made to Form 6, claiming that only a temporary declaration seeking details of voters’ whereabouts before 2004 had been introduced and would be removed after the SIR process. Maintaining that eligible citizens would continue to have the right to enrol themselves as voters even after the revision, he accused the opposition of manufacturing controversy around the exercise. He further argued that the opposition was targeting the BJP because it had no answer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s development model.
