BJP conspiring to deprive Bihar voters through special revision of electoral rolls: Kharge
Kharge asks why people who have been voting polls after polls are being asked to show their documents for voting; says SIR will impact eight crore voters
Accusing the BJP of conspiring to deprive the people of Bihar of their voter rights through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday (July 6) said the state’s voters would teach an apt lesson to the saffron party for attacking the democracy and the Constitution.
He cited a new advertisement issued by the Election Commission (EC), urging the voters of Bihar to only fill a form under the SIR, and alleged that "when people rise, BJP backtracks".
Also read: Bihar: 'No change' in electoral rolls revision process, clarifies EC after its ad
‘Masterplan to deprive Bihar voters of rights’
“With the support of the Election Commission, the master plan that the BJP had devised to deprive crores of people in Bihar of their voting rights now seems to be ensnaring the BJP itself," Kharge alleged in a post in Hindi on X.
He said from the very first day, the Congress has been raising its voice against the SIR.
"Why are people who have been voting election after election being asked to show their documents for voting? Forcibly depriving the poor, weak, deprived, Dalits, oppressed and backward people of their voting rights is the conspiracy of the BJP-RSS," he alleged.
Watch: Bihar poll revision drive: Voter rights in danger, says ex-bureaucrat | Capital Beat
‘8 Cr people will suffer’
The Congress chief claimed that nearly eight crore people will suffer because of the SIR.
"The responsibility to correct the voter list lies with the EC, not the public. When the pressure from the opposition, the public and civil society increased, the Election Commission hurriedly published these advertisements today, which state that now only a form needs to be filled and showing documents is not necessary," he claimed.
"This is part of the BJP's tactic to mislead and confuse the public. The truth is that the BJP has decided it will crush democracy at all costs. But when faced with public opposition, it cleverly takes a step back," he alleged.
Also read: Bihar: EC’s ‘veil of secrecy’ emerges as key flaw in voter list revision
Noting that Bihar is the birthplace of democracy, Kharge said the people of the state will surely respond to BJP’s “attack” on democracy and the Constitution in the upcoming Assembly election.
(With inputs from agencies)