"These people opposing SIR to get Muslim votes": Union Minister Giriraj Singh slams oppn

Begusarai (Bihar) [India], October 28 (ANI): Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Tuesday hit out at the INDIA bloc for opposing the second phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise that the Election Commission of India (ECI) plans to conduct across several states, saying that the opposition was objecting to it to garner Muslim votes.
"I want to thank the Election Commission for the SIR. There are some states that are opposing the SIR. The INDIA alliance is opposing it. It looks like the government of West Bengal has become the Government of Bangladesh. These people oppose it only to get Muslim votes. They want to turn India into a dharamshala," Singh told ANI.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi today alleged "vote scam" occurring in every constituency, while criticising the Election Commission of India (ECI) for "escaping accountability" by remaining non-responsive to concerns of "voter manipulation."
"Election Commission continues to think that with its brazen non-response to genuine concerns of vote manipulation, they will be able to escape accountability. But deep dive into every constituency is consistently showing vote scam," Chaturvedi posted on X.
Highlighting the "vote chori" demonstration by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Chaturvedi said that the probe carried out by Karnataka Special Investigation Team (SIT) has also confirmed the addition of "fake voters" in some constituencies.
"LoP Rahul Gandhi in his press conference had shown how fake voters were added in some assembly constituencies of Karnataka and now the SIT investigation is also confirming the same," the Rajya Sabha MP said.
Aaditya Thackeray made a presentation alleging discrepancies in the voter list, claiming they led to the defeat of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections.
The Worli MLA claimed that "bogus" voting took place during last year's assembly elections and flagged that the alleged discrepancies could impact the upcoming Brihamumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
Earlier, the ECI will conduct the second phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across 12 States and Union Territories, with the final voter list to be published on February 7, 2026, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar said on Monday.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, CEC Kumar said the exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
EC said that printing and training will take place from October 28 to November 3, followed by an Enumeration Phase from November to December 4. The Draft Electoral Rolls will be published on December 9, followed by a claims and objection period from December 9 to January 8, 2026. The Notice Phase (for hearing and verification) will take place between December 9 and January 31, 2026, with publication of Final Electoral Rolls on February 7, 2026.
"The second phase of SIR (Special Intensive Revision) is about to be carried out in 12 States and UTs," the CEC said.
Following the Supreme Court's directions, the ECI has included Aadhaar on the list of 12 indicative documents, as per its September 9 order on the SIR in Bihar. (ANI)