Jammu, Nov 3: BJP national vice president Ram Madhav on Tuesday accused the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi of spreading misinformation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the opposition party was attempting to destabilise the country after failing to challenge the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi through democratic elections.
Addressing a press conference in Jammu, Madhav alleged that the Congress was trying to undermine democratic institutions, create public distrust and generate an atmosphere of anarchy to capture political power outside the democratic process.
He claimed that the opposition's objective was no longer limited to electoral politics but involved creating instability and weakening confidence in constitutional institutions to bring about a change of government.
"Congress's objective today is not to come to power through democratic means or by contesting elections. Instead, it is attempting to create disorder in the country, undermine public confidence in our democratic institutions and use unrest as a means to capture power," Madhav alleged.
Taking exception to references to regime change by opposition leaders, he claimed that the Congress was looking at political developments in Bangladesh and Nepal as models for changing the government in India.
He alleged that Congress leaders were openly discussing the possibility of bringing about regime change similar to developments in those countries.
Madhav asserted that the people of India would not allow the Congress and its allies to succeed in their alleged attempts to create instability.
Referring to the Congress-led protest in Delhi, he said that while the opposition might mobilise 50,000 people to spread what he termed false propaganda, the BJP would reach five lakh villages and inform 100 crore voters about the issue.
Defends SIR exercise
Defending the Special Intensive Revision, Madhav described it as a constitutional exercise aimed at removing discrepancies from electoral rolls, including the names of deceased voters, people who had shifted residences, duplicate entries and individuals who could not be traced at their registered addresses. He also referred to the removal of names of illegally settled infiltrators.
He said the Election Commission had already submitted an affidavit before the Supreme Court, detailing the exercise and responding to allegations surrounding the revision process.
Questioning the Congress's claim that around 13 crore names had been deleted, Madhav challenged the opposition to produce individuals who could establish that their names had been wrongly removed from electoral rolls.
"Despite all the campaigning and propaganda by Congress, the party has not been able to bring even a single person onto a public platform who can stand up and say, 'My vote has been deleted'," he claimed.
He pointed out that nearly 90 lakh people die in India every year, arguing that periodic revision of electoral rolls was necessary to remove the names of deceased voters and maintain accurate records.
Madhav further accused the Congress of using the SIR controversy to divert attention from its political failures and create suspicion about the Election Commission.
He said the exercise had been completed in several states and was still pending in others, including Jammu and Kashmir, adding that it was being conducted through a constitutionally established mechanism.
Madhav maintained that genuine grievances or discrepancies could be addressed through the procedures prescribed by the Election Commission.
He reiterated that the BJP would counter what he described as the Congress's misinformation campaign and work to protect public confidence in the country's electoral institutions and democratic framework.
