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- BJP criticizes Rahul Gandhi for "malicious propaganda" on SIR issue.
- Election Commission confirms all SIR orders approved by full commission.
- Ravi Shankar Prasad dismisses opposition allegations as "baseless and shameless".
The BJP on Saturday said the Election Commission's latest statement has exposed the "lies" and "malicious propaganda" of the Congress and Rahul Gandhi on the SIR issue.
"Rahul Gandhi was lying and running malicious propaganda. He is a non-serious politician. The people of the country do not take him seriously," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
The remarks came after the Election Commission (EC) on Saturday asserted that all orders related to Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were issued after approval from all three election commissioners, and the changes in Form 6, through which names are included in the voters' list, have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Amid the ongoing row over "differences" between two election commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the EC said in a statement that letters sent by the two commissioners – Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi – to the Cabinet secretary were not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but to the working of an officer on deputation to the poll panel.
The work re-distribution orders issued by the officer concerned were not actually implemented after the orders of the two commissioners, and the oversight over the IT division by the deputy election commissioner was never actually withdrawn, the EC said in the statement issued with the approval of the full Commission.
Commenting on the matter, senior BJP leader Prasad said, "Based on a media report which was factually wrong, the opposition, especially Rahul Gandhi, was levelling baseless and shameless allegations."
"The EC''s statement has exposed the Congress and Rahul Gandhi," he said.
"When you win elections, everything is fine for you, be it election commissioners, voter list or EVMs. And when you suffer defeat, you start making a hue and cry," the former Union minister said.
"The BJP wins elections because people respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi and want to walk alongside him," he added.
Prasad also said that the country has emerged as a major global power and an economic powerhouse under Prime Minister Modi, with international rating agencies acknowledging India's growth rate of 7.8 per cent as a "global milestone" today.
"You also work hard, gain the trust of the people and win elections," he said, adding, "Why does Rahul Gandhi repeatedly blame the Election Commission for his own failures and the party's weaknesses?"
Prasad also took on Congress'' allies, saying they should work hard to win elections instead of levelling baseless allegations against the poll authority.
"I will tell one thing to the opposition parties. Wherever Rahul Gandhi and the Congress set foot, things get ruined. If the opposition parties want to see their own ruin, I have nothing to say," he said.
On the INDIA bloc's likely meeting in the national capital on September 30 to discuss its strategy, Prasad said, "Who would object to people smiling together for a photograph or sharing a cup of tea? The real question is whether there is any intention to walk together."
The signs of this are already visible in Uttar Pradesh, where Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav went to Raebareli, prompting the Congress to say, "We could go to your constituency too," Prasad said, adding, "Let's see what happens next."
On the Congress pitching to bring an impeachment motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, the
BJP leader said they can do so, but Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will take a call on the matter.
"Is there any substantive evidence (in the Congress ' allegations against the CEC)? I have great respect for press freedom. However, the press report (on division among election commissioners on the SIR process) was factually incorrect," he added.
The remarks came after a recent report in The Indian Express claimed that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to SIR within the three-member EC by Sandhu and Joshi.
According to the report, the national rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three commissioners, but Sandhu and Joshi formally objected, "on record", at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued, they say, without their knowledge.
Disclaimer: Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by The Daily Jagran staff and has been published through a syndicated feed by PTI.