NEW DELHI: BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi on Monday accused the Congress and Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi of spreading a “false narrative” over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the Opposition was attempting to create confusion and undermine constitutional institutions.Calling Rahul Gandhi the “greatest challenge to India’s democracy”, Trivedi claimed that certain forces, both within and outside the country, were unhappy with India’s progress in areas such as artificial intelligence, defence production and national security, and that the Opposition had become a “mere plaything in their hands”.Trivedi also questioned the Congress’s allegations over the electoral roll revision process, pointing to the role of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and Booth Level Agents (BLAs). He said the Election Commission had appointed around 12 lakh BLOs across the country, while political parties had appointed approximately 22 lakh BLAs to monitor the process of adding and deleting names from electoral rolls“Were the Congress Party’s BLAs asleep or under the influence of intoxicants? They signed off on these lists or, if they didn’t sign, did they raise any objections?” he asked.The BJP leader argued that political parties had representatives to monitor the revision process and questioned why the Congress was raising objections if its agents had not flagged discrepancies at the time.Trivedi also cited the Congress’s electoral performance in several states to counter Rahul Gandhi’s claims about anti-incumbency and the party’s prospects. He said the Congress had not had a chief minister in Odisha for 25 years, had been out of power in Gujarat since 1995, and in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar since 1990.“These states account for 120 seats,” he said, adding that the Congress had struggled to win even 10 seats across states with a combined 230 Lok Sabha constituencies. He questioned how the party expected to reach the 272-seat majority mark under these circumstances.
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Trivedi further referred to Kerala, where the Congress’s political opponents are in power, and cited state leader Ramesh Chennithala’s reported remarks that they had benefited from the SIR exercise. He used this to question the Opposition’s criticism of the revision process.His remarks come amid the Opposition’s intensified campaign against the SIR exercise. On Sunday, November 1, INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mamata Banerjee, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav and Farooq Abdullah, held a mega rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan under the banner of ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’.The rally followed a march from Minto Road towards the venue, with Opposition leaders accusing the Election Commission of large-scale voter deletions and demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
