Chandigarh, October 23
Punjab BJP President Kewal Singh Dhillon has strongly criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over his speech in the state Assembly on Friday regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Calling Mann’s speech Surprising, Dhillon said, “You run the state government, your officers carried out the exercise, and you yourself conducted the SIR. Now you are the one raising questions about it.”
The BJP state president said the entire process was carried out by the state government’s administrative machinery. From Deputy Commissioners and Sub-Divisional Magistrates (SDMs) to officials at the booth level, all the personnel involved were under the state government’s administration. The Centre had no role in the exercise, he asserted. “If your officers made mistakes during the SIR, why did your party leaders visit the Election Commission and claim that everything was in order?” Dhillon asked.
He pointed out that while the Chief Minister was alleging irregularities in the SIR in the Assembly, leaders from his own party were telling the Election Commission that everything was fine. He challenged Mann to identify even a single voter in the state whose name had been wrongly deleted from the electoral rolls.
Dhillon said that if any irregularities had indeed occurred, it would be a serious matter for which the state government itself would be responsible. He described Mann’s remarks as evidence of what he called an incompetent government, alleging that it had lost its ability to think clearly and make sound decisions. He added that Mann appeared to have lost faith even in his own ministers and officials.
Dhillon said that when the SIR exercise began in Punjab, Mann had promised that no voter in the state would be allowed to have their name deleted from the electoral rolls. If anyone’s name had been wrongly removed, the Chief Minister must answer for it, he said. Mann could not evade responsibility by making baseless allegations against the Central Government, Dhillon added.
The BJP president further alleged that the AAP government lacked the courage to answer questions from the public. He said the government was under pressure over several serious issues, including pending dearness allowance (DA) payments, the drug menace, the killing of people who had spoken out against drugs, gangsterism, deteriorating law and order, and Punjab’s mounting debt. Dhillon alleged that the Chief Minister was making such absurd statements to divert public attention from these pressing issues.