BJP Challenges Congress Claims Over SIR, Accuses Party Of ‘Fake Narratives’

BJP National Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari on Monday accused the Congress of creating what he described as a “fake narrative” around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He argued that the exercise was necessary to maintain accurate and updated voter lists and said the Election Commission of India was carrying it out as part of its administrative responsibilities.

Bhandari alleged that the Opposition was attempting to create confusion among voters by questioning the revision process. He claimed that the exercise had resulted in the removal of 2.8 crore dead voters, three crore absent voters, 6.3 crore permanently shifted voters and one crore duplicate voters. He also alleged that more than six lakh Opposition booth agents had filed no complaints during the exercise.

Citing figures from the SIR exercise, Bhandari claimed that 46.23 lakh voters in Uttar Pradesh, 34.81 lakh in Maharashtra, 26.945 lakh in Tamil Nadu and 24.17 lakh in West Bengal had been identified as dead voters and removed from electoral rolls. He also cited figures for Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh while defending the exercise.

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Responding to Congress allegations concerning the electoral process, Bhandari argued that the revision was aimed at improving the integrity of voter rolls rather than excluding genuine voters. He further claimed that there had been no adverse change to Form 6 and that the procedure had instead been simplified for ordinary citizens. According to him, more than 2.37 crore young voters had also been added to the electoral rolls.

The BJP spokesperson accused Congress of attempting to mislead the public when it was unable to secure electoral victories. He alleged that the party was using the SIR controversy to create confusion and questioned its opposition to the removal of names identified as belonging to deceased voters. Bhandari also said the Congress had lacked consistency on several national issues, including matters concerning national security.

Bhandari further criticised the Congress leadership over what he described as appeasement and dynastic politics, while accusing the party of failing to put national interests first. He alleged that the Opposition's campaign against SIR was part of a broader effort to influence public opinion through what he termed misleading narratives. The Congress has continued to raise concerns over the electoral roll revision process, making SIR a significant point of political debate.

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