MAPUSA/MARGAO
Rejecting the Congress charge that the SpecialIntensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is designed to benefit the BJP,party spokesman Rupesh Kamat on Tuesday said the exercise could not selectivelyhelp any political party.
Kamat said it was difficult, if notimpossible, for the Election Commission or political parties to identify voterson a large scale as belonging to the BJP or Congress, particularly in Goa wherevoters generally do not openly disclose their political preferences.
“How can one identify a voter accurately andon a big scale – whether he is a BJP or Congress voter?” Kamat asked, rejectingthe argument that deletion of names from the electoral rolls wouldautomatically benefit the BJP. He pointed to constituencies represented by BJPlegislators where, he said, large numbers of names had also been deleted. “Thisis a narrative that has been created that SIR is to help BJP. It is not thecase,” Kamat said.
Kamat said names could be deleted for severalreasons, including duplication, migration, change of address or voters leavingthe country. He also claimed that BJP legislators, MPs and party workers hadthemselves found their names missing from the draft roll and subsequently gotthem restored after approaching the authorities with documents.
BJP leaders in South Goa, meanwhile, accusedCongress leader Rahul Gandhi of setting a false narrative to discredit theElection Commission of India.
“There is a conspiracy by the Congress andRahul Gandhi to set a narrative in order to discredit a Constitutional bodysuch as the Election Commission of India. In the past, Rahul Gandhi had madesimilar comments against the Judiciary, Chief Vigilance Commissioner,Comptroller and Auditor General of India with the sole aim to discredit theseconstitutional bodies,” said BJP leader Amogh Arlekar.
Referring to the SIR, Arlekar said the SupremeCourt had upheld the constitutional validity of the exercise and the validityof Form 6.
“The SC has also upheld the validity of Form6. After they found all doors closed, the Congress party is on the job todiscredit the ECI. Since they cannot win the confidence of the people in theelections, they have set the narrative against the ECI,” he said.
Kamat said the BJP was not defending theElection Commission but was placing “facts” against what he termed misleadingclaims. “We are not here to defend the Election Commission. We are here toplace the facts against the wrong facts placed by Congress and its allies,” hesaid.
Kamat added that while the Election Commissionwas an independent body, the controversy could prompt it to consider greatertransparency in explaining how decisions are arrived at, particularly whencommissioners record differing views.
