Panipat, November 6
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya launched a sharp attack on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, saying that instead of accepting its electoral defeats, the Congress is attempting to discredit democracy and constitutional institutions by questioning Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said that SIR is a regular and constitutional process aimed at ensuring the accuracy of electoral rolls, but the Congress is engaged in spreading lies and confusion about it across the country.
Addressing a press conference on the theme “Save Democracy, End Mobocracy” at the BJP’s Shyam Kamal office in Panipat, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the Election Commission of India is a constitutional institution, and maintaining accurate and updated electoral rolls is not only its authority but also its responsibility. The process of revising electoral rolls has been continuing since 1952. He said that people moving from one place to another for employment, business, marriage and other reasons is a normal occurrence in the country. In several cases, voters’ names are registered at more than one location, while some registered voters have passed away. Therefore, regular verification and purification of electoral rolls are essential.
Countering the Congress’s allegations of theft of 13 crore votes, Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya cited figures and stated that approximately 6.3 crore voters, accounting for 48.1 percent, had permanently shifted their place of residence, around 2.8 crore voters, representing 21.4 percent, had died, and nearly 1 crore entries, or 7.6 percent, were duplicates. In addition, approximately 3 crore voters, accounting for 22.9 percent, were either absent or could not be contacted during the prescribed verification process. He said that describing the verification of such entries and subsequent action in accordance with the rules as vote theft was an attempt to mislead the public.
Mandaviya questioned Rahul Gandhi, asking whether foreign infiltrators should be allowed to have their names included in India’s electoral rolls and participate in electing the country’s representatives. If the name of a suspected foreign national appears on an electoral roll, is it wrong to issue a notice to verify that person’s citizenship and eligibility? He said that under India’s democratic system, only Indian citizens have the right to vote in accordance with the law. Advocating the retention of ineligible individuals on electoral rolls cannot be in the national interest.
Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the revision of electoral rolls is conducted under the supervision of the Election Commission through District Election Officers, administrative officials and Booth Level Officers (BLOs). A BLO is not a worker of any political party but part of the administrative machinery. He questioned the Congress, asking why the administrative machinery in Congress-ruled states had not raised complaints if there were irregularities in the SIR process. Has any BLO or government employee complained about being pressured to wrongfully delete voters’ names? He said that instead of making baseless allegations, the Congress should present its arguments with facts and evidence.
Taking aim at Rahul Gandhi, the Union Minister said that the Congress has now made it a political habit to blame either EVMs or the Election Commission for its electoral defeats. When the Congress wins elections in Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh and other states, it has no objections to EVMs or the Election Commission. However, whenever it loses an election, it begins raising allegations of vote theft. He asked Rahul Gandhi to explain how EVMs and the Election Commission suddenly become acceptable when the Congress wins elections, but are accused of facilitating vote theft whenever the party loses.
Mandaviya said that in a democracy, political parties must accept the people’s mandate instead of creating confusion by questioning constitutional institutions. The Congress must understand that democracy is not merely about winning elections; respecting democratic institutions is equally important. Attempts to weaken the Election Commission and create distrust among the public towards constitutional institutions are not appropriate for the country’s democratic framework. He said that the BJP firmly believes that electoral rolls should contain only the names of eligible citizens. The objective of SIR is not to deprive anyone of their voting rights but to make electoral rolls transparent, accurate and reliable.
The Congress should abandon what he described as the politics of false allegations and misinformation, reach out to the people and seek public support based on its work and policies. Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya categorically stated that putting constitutional institutions in the dock after suffering electoral defeats reflects the political frustration of the Congress. He said that the people of the country now want development, good governance and accountability rather than politics based on confusion and falsehood.
