Andhra BJP Accuses Rahul Gandhi of Confusing Public on SIR, Disrespecting ECI

The Andhra Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday criticised Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi for what it described as creating confusion among the public over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and for demeaning the office of the Election Commission of India.

Addressing a media conference in Visakhapatnam, party State spokesperson Jalli Madhusudhan said the country expects the Leader of the Opposition to act responsibly and to offer constructive suggestions to the government. He said Mr. Gandhi's recent outbursts against the constitutional office of the Election Commission did not befit his position.

Mr. Madhusudhan maintained that the SIR stemmed from proposals put forward in the past by a range of parties, including regional outfits, to correct anomalies in the voters' list. He questioned how Mr. Gandhi could now oppose the exercise on what he called flimsy grounds.

The spokesperson alleged that the Congress was intent on triggering unnecessary panic about the removal of votes, when the exercise was only about cleaning up the rolls by deleting the names of dead and shifted voters.

"It is now clear that the Leader of the Opposition does not want the ECI to take any proactive steps to stem the rot in the system. It also gives rise to the suspicion that he wants to extend the rights enjoyed by the Indian citizens to the illegal immigrants too," he said.

Mr. Madhusudhan added that the BJP would continue to stand by the good policies initiated by constitutional bodies such as the Election Commission and would keep enlightening the public on the merits of implementing the SIR.