BOMDILA, Nov 7: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), West Kameng district unit, on Saturday defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the Congress and the INDI Alliance of spreading misinformation through allegations of vote theft and electoral manipulation.
Addressing a press conference in Bomdila under the party's nationwide campaign, ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Reject Anarchy), BJP state spokesperson Tobom Dai said the SIR exercise, conducted under the supervision of the Election Commission of India, was aimed at ensuring accurate and updated electoral rolls. The press conference was attended by BJP West Kameng district president Nawang Lopsang.
Dai said the revision process sought to identify deceased voters, duplicate registrations, permanent migrants and other discrepancies while ensuring the inclusion of newly eligible voters.
He claimed that SIR had been conducted 12 times since Independence, with 10 exercises undertaken under Congress-led governments, and questioned the opposition's criticism of the process.
Citing nationwide figures, Dai referred to around 13 crore electoral roll discrepancies, including 6.3 crore possible permanent migrants, three crore voters reportedly absent during verification, 2.8 crore deceased voters and nearly one crore duplicate registrations. He said identifying such discrepancies was essential to maintaining the credibility of the electoral system.
Referring to Arunachal Pradesh, he claimed that approximately 1.9 lakh entries had been deleted from the state's electoral rolls, including duplicate and deceased voter entries. He also said the exercise had received support from various political parties, community-based organisations and student bodies, including the All Arunachal Pradesh Students' Union (AAPSU).
Emphasising the need for cooperation between Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs), Dai urged political parties to actively participate in the verification process rather than make allegations without engaging at the grassroots level.
Criticising the Congress over its ‘Vote Chori’ allegations, he advised the opposition to strengthen its organisational structure, reconnect with people and work towards regaining public confidence through democratic participation.
Dai also urged the Congress to introspect on its electoral performance instead of repeatedly questioning the electoral process.
Maintaining that democratic institutions must be respected, he said political power could only be secured through public trust and the mandate of the people.
“This country will run by the will of its people,” Dai remarked.