Telangana BJP Chief Ramchander Rao Rejects Congress Demand to Halt SIR, Questions Vote Theft Allegations

Rao questioned the Congress’s demand to suspend the exercise, describing its allegations of electoral irregularities and vote theft as unfounded. He maintained that concerns about the revision process should be backed by specific evidence.

“Congress leaders, including Mallikarjun Kharge, have time and again been asking for the SIR process to be stalled. In fact, the first phase of the SIR is over now. The second phase of the SIR for the remaining voters has been completed,” Rao said.

He claimed that the exercise had progressed substantially and cited Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka among the states where the second phase had been completed.

BJP Leader Challenges Congress Claims

Rao alleged that the Congress had not demonstrated how legitimate voters had been removed from electoral rolls or provided sufficient evidence to support its claims.

“How can it be stopped without any proof? Kharge or Rahul Gandhi, it is their demand to stop the SIR without any basis,” he said.

The BJP leader further accused the Congress of creating confusion among the public through its allegations of vote theft. He argued that the party should identify specific instances of alleged voter deletion rather than call for the entire exercise to be halted.

“They don’t have any basis for voter deletion. They make such demands to confuse the people of the country. Their claims of vote theft are an insult to the people’s mandate,” Rao said.

He also questioned the basis of the Opposition’s protests, reiterating that allegations of irregularities should be supported by verifiable information.

Rao Defends EVMs and Election Commission

The Telangana BJP chief also defended Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), arguing that Opposition parties had accepted election results in states where they had secured victories using the same voting system.

“The EVMs they are raising questions about are the same ones through which they won in Himachal Pradesh and Kerala,” he said.

Rao alleged that Opposition parties questioned the credibility of EVMs and the Election Commission of India (ECI) primarily when electoral outcomes favoured the BJP.

He maintained that the Congress should present evidence to support its concerns about the electoral process rather than demand that the SIR exercise be stopped.

The remarks underline the continuing political disagreement between the BJP and the Congress over electoral roll revision, allegations of voter deletions and the credibility of the electoral process. While Rao rejected the Opposition’s claims, the dispute remains centred on the parties’ competing positions regarding the conduct and scrutiny of electoral rolls.