IMPHAL/UKHRUL: BJP Manipur Pradesh general secretary K. Sarat Kumar on Monday dismissed the Congress’ allegations against the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the objections raised by the party have no basis.
Speaking to the media at Thambal Sanglen, Sarat Kumar said the ECI’s three-member full commission had taken the decision related to Form 6 during its meeting in New Delhi on September 26.
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He said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Dr S. S. Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi were functioning collectively as the full commission, and questioned the basis of the demand for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner.
Sarat Kumar also hit out at the Congress’ opposition to the SIR, claiming that the party had undertaken a similar exercise when it was in power. He alleged that the Congress was now opposing the exercise without sufficient grounds.
“If the Congress has evidence of any wrongdoing in the SIR process, it should produce it,” Sarat Kumar said, challenging the party to substantiate its allegations.
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On the ongoing SIR in Manipur, the BJP leader claimed that no instance of electoral malpractice or victimisation had so far come to light in the state.
He further alleged that the Congress was using the issue for political purposes and urged that the SIR process be viewed in the context of electoral roll revision rather than as a political controversy.
