Congress Questions BJP's Silence Over Fears of Genuine Voters Losing Their Names from Electoral Rolls; Demands Guarantee for Protection of Eligible Citizens' Voting Rights
Ranchi: Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee Media In-charge Rakesh Sinha launched a sharp attack on BJP State General Secretary Amar Kumar Bauri over his recent statement, alleging that the BJP is attempting to divert public attention from real issues by repeatedly raising the issue of infiltrators. He said that the growing uneasiness among BJP leaders over Congress's public outreach meetings (Chaupals) is becoming increasingly evident. While Congress is reaching out to people and listening to their concerns, the BJP is trying to avoid genuine questions by repeatedly bringing up the issue of infiltration.
Rakesh Sinha said that Congress is not fighting for infiltrators but for the protection of the voting rights of genuine Indian citizens. He questioned why the BJP was silent over concerns that lakhs of voters could lose their names from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. He asked whether poor, labourers, tribal communities, Dalits and minority families do not have the right to express concern about the protection of their voting rights.
He further said that Amar Bauri should clarify who would be held accountable if the name of any eligible Indian citizen is removed from the electoral roll during the SIR exercise. Raising questions about the Election Commission's process does not amount to undermining democracy; rather, it is an effort to make democratic institutions more accountable. The BJP must stop responding to every question by invoking the issue of infiltrators, he added.
Sinha alleged that the BJP is uncomfortable with Congress's public outreach meetings because people are raising questions about irregularities in electoral rolls, the voting rights of poor and disadvantaged citizens, and the need for transparency in the electoral process. Instead of answering these questions, the BJP is attempting to mislead the public.
Challenging the BJP, he said that if the SIR process is completely fair and transparent, the party should publicly guarantee that no eligible Indian citizen will lose their voting rights. The BJP should also clarify what action will be taken against officials responsible for the wrongful deletion of voters' names.
Rakesh Sinha alleged that the BJP's real agenda is not to answer people's questions but to portray every democratic protest as anti-national. He said that the BJP repeatedly invokes Pakistan, infiltrators and the Constitution for political purposes, but has no concrete answers on issues such as inflation, unemployment, the future of young people and democratic rights.
He asserted that Congress's public outreach meetings would continue and people's questions would not be suppressed. Congress would fight from the streets to the legislature to protect the voting rights of every genuine Indian citizen. Democracy is not the property of any political party, and electoral rolls are not the private documents of any political organisation, he said.
