BJP Holds Briefing in Balurghat, Says SIR Debate Is Being Used to Mislead Voters

Senior Correspondent.TOD.Balurghat 

The Bharatiya Janata Party’s South Dinajpur district unit held a press conference on Wednesday, accusing opposition parties of spreading “misinformation and propaganda” over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.At the briefing, held at the district BJP office, party leaders said the SIR exercise was being politicised in an attempt to question the verdict delivered by voters in recent elections.

The BJP said the decision to undertake the SIR process was not taken by the Chief Election Commissioner alone, but jointly by the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners. Party representatives also referred to the Supreme Court’s involvement in matters concerning SIR in West Bengal and to the role of judicial officers under directions issued by the court.The party also questioned what it described as differing political positions on SIR in Kerala and West Bengal. BJP leaders criticised the Trinamool Congress and the Left parties, alleging that the controversy was being used to divert public attention from allegations of corruption and administrative irregularities.

Addressing the controversy surrounding approximately 2.7 million names, the BJP said judicial officers had also been involved in the process and argued that responsibility should not be placed entirely on the Election Commission or the BJP.The district BJP called for what it described as an end to “propaganda” surrounding SIR and urged that factual information be placed before the public while respecting the democratic mandate of voters.