CityLightBuzz: Vikarabad: BJP Telangana State President N. Ramchander Rao launched a sharp attack on the Congress party, alleging that it was spreading misinformation about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls out of fear of electoral defeats. He called upon intellectuals, legal professionals and the public to counter what he described as Congress’s misleading campaign against the Election Commission of India.
Addressing an intellectuals’ and advocates’ conference on the SIR process in Vikarabad, Ramchander Rao questioned the Congress party’s allegations of large-scale vote deletion and defended the Election Commission’s initiative to revise electoral rolls.
He stated that SIR was not a new initiative introduced under the Narendra Modi government. According to him, comprehensive electoral roll revisions had been conducted 12 times since Independence, with 10 such exercises taking place during Congress-led governments. He noted that the last major revision was conducted between 2002 and 2004, followed by a gap of more than two decades.
Rejects Allegations of 13 Crore Votes Being Deleted
Ramchander Rao strongly rejected the Congress and INDIA alliance’s allegations that 13 crore votes had been deleted overnight. He claimed that the figure referred to ASDD (Absent, Shifted, Dead and Duplicate) entries identified during the draft electoral roll verification process and did not represent confirmed deletions.
Explaining the figures, he stated that approximately 6.3 crore entries related to people who had permanently shifted, three crore were associated with individuals unavailable at their registered addresses, 2.8 crore related to deceased persons, and around one crore were suspected duplicate entries.
He questioned why the Congress party was opposing the removal of deceased voters’ names and duplicate registrations from electoral rolls. He alleged that maintaining such entries could enable electoral malpractice and urged political parties to support the preparation of accurate voter lists.
Questions Congress Over Election Commission Criticism
The BJP state president also questioned the Congress party’s criticism of the Election Commission’s independence. He contrasted the previous appointment system for Election Commissioners with the selection mechanism introduced under the Modi government, which includes the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
He maintained that the Election Commission is a constitutionally established institution responsible for conducting free and fair elections and criticised attempts to undermine public confidence in it.
Explains Ground-Level SIR Verification Process
Explaining the implementation of SIR, Ramchander Rao said that the verification process was being carried out by Booth Level Officers (BLOs), revenue officials, teachers and other government personnel, including employees working under the state government.
He pointed out that Booth Level Agents (BLAs) appointed by various political parties, including the BJP, Congress, BRS and Left parties, had opportunities to participate in the monitoring process.
He further stated that citizens had legal avenues to raise objections after the publication of draft electoral rolls. He referred to Form 6 as a mechanism through which eligible citizens could apply for inclusion if their names were inadvertently omitted.
Questioning the Congress allegations, he asked how vote theft could take place when government officials were conducting field-level verification and representatives of political parties were involved in monitoring the process.
Raises Concerns Over Illegal Immigration and National Security
Addressing concerns relating to national security, Ramchander Rao referred to illegal immigration from neighbouring countries, particularly alleged infiltration by Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals.
He recalled the Assam student movement of 1978 and the controversy surrounding the Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunals) Act (IMDT). He alleged that previous Congress and Trinamool Congress governments had encouraged illegal immigrants for electoral considerations.
He questioned whether individuals without Indian citizenship should be allowed to remain on electoral rolls and argued that voter verification was important for safeguarding national security and electoral integrity.
He also referred to the Supreme Court’s consideration of the SIR process and the involvement of judicial officers in the verification exercise.
Accuses Congress of Undermining Democratic Institutions
Ramchander Rao further alleged that the Congress party had repeatedly questioned Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission and the judiciary to deflect attention from its electoral defeats.
Referring to the party’s electoral performance between 2014 and 2025, he claimed that Congress had faced defeats in several Assembly elections even before the current SIR exercise began.
He also criticised alleged attacks on election officials and women police personnel by Congress workers, describing such incidents as unacceptable.
Concluding his address, the BJP Telangana president appealed to intellectuals, advocates, educated citizens and members of the public to actively participate in discussions on electoral reforms, support transparent voter-list preparation and counter what he termed misinformation surrounding the SIR process.
The conference witnessed discussions on electoral roll verification, democratic institutions, voter registration and the importance of maintaining accurate electoral records.
