Congress spreading misconceptions after losing elections: JP Nadda on SIR

New Delhi [India], December 16 (ANI): Union Minister and BJP MP JP Nadda on Tuesday lambasted Congress over electoral fraud allegations, stating that the party is spreading misconceptions after losing elections.

Addressing the Upper House of Parliament during a discussion on electoral reforms, Nadda backed the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, while raising concerns about infiltrators in voter lists.

Taking a jibe at Congress, JP Nadda also stated that the responsibility for overseeing the Election Commission's functioning rested with a single party controlled by a single family.

He said, “The election results that have come in, these election results must certainly trouble you (Congress). You are applying medicine somewhere else, but the disease is somewhere else. You will have to find your own disease. Just to pacify your own cadre, spreading this wrong misconception that we are losing elections because the Election Commission is indulging in mischief. I think that by doing this, you are compromising the country's interest for the sake of your party's interest.”

“The real question is whether infiltrators should be allowed to remain on the electoral rolls. The lists must be cleaned thoroughly and fairly. Election results have clearly disappointed the opposition,” he told the House. 

The Union Minister termed the SIR exercise as part of India’s democratic process, noting that previously the exercise had been conducted under Congress governments.

He said, “For decades, the responsibility of overseeing the functioning and work of the Election Commission was with one party, and that party was in power for a long time. That party also belonged to one family. At that time, no questions were raised about the credibility of the Election Commission.”

“This, SIR, is not new. It has been part of India’s democratic process since 1952. It was conducted in 1952, 1957 and 1961 when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister. In 1965, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the Prime Minister. In 1983, Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister. In 1987 and 1989, Rajiv Gandhi was Prime Minister. In 1992, PV Narasimha Rao was the Prime Minister. In 2002, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister. In 2004, Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister. Except for Atal ji, every time SIR was carried out, the Prime Minister was from the Congress,” he said. 

The Rajya Sabha took up the discussion on electoral reforms on December 12, following a debate on the subject in the Lower House of Parliament.

Meanwhile, Congress held a rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, intensifying its campaign against the alleged “vote theft” amidst the ongoing SIR exercise in 12 States and Union Territories. (ANI)