BJP using SIR to cut electorate in opposition-ruled states, claims Yogendra Yadav
Kolkata (PTI): Eminent psephologist and activist Yogendra Yadav on Sunday reiterated that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and West Bengal was just a test before a larger rollout.
Addressing a meeting at the Bharat Sabha Hall here, Yadav claimed that the BJP would leave no stone unturned to win the 2026 Bengal polls and was using the SIR process as a tool to reduce the number of electors.
"From the outset, I have said SIR is targeted at Bengal. As Bihar elections were only a few months away, the EC used the state as the testing ground to implement SIR. Now the BJP wants to go the whole hog in Bengal," he said in Hindi.
Yadav alleged that after failing to make a dent in opposition-ruled states like West Bengal in the past, the BJP was now hell-bent on using SIR as a last resort to reduce the electorate in such states.
He described the SIR exercise in Bengal as "the highest disenfranchisement ever" undertaken in the country.
"SIR is a votebandi exercise aimed at undermining and disenfranchising India’s adult voters who had cast their ballots in previous elections by benchmarking the 2002 year as a timeline for enrolling as legitimate voters," he said.
Referring to the claim by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari that one crore voters may be omitted after the SIR, Yadav said, "Even if not the world, West Bengal will witness the largest ever disenfranchisement in India."
Questioning the criteria behind selecting states for SIR, Yadav said if the EC was concerned about infiltrators settling in the country after crossing the border, “why did they leave out Assam as the first state? Because Assam is not ruled by an opposition government?”
On October 27, the EC announced SIR in West Bengal and eight other states and three Union Territories, while the exercise had already been completed in Bihar.
Yadav reiterated that the current SIR was not a rerun of the 2002 exercise, asserting that in that year, people neither had to fill forms nor provide documents to booth-level officers as they are being asked to do now.
On Saturday, Yadav claimed that it is not for the BJP to define as to who is an infiltrator and who is a refugee.
"It is for the law and the courts to decide who is an infiltrator and who is a refugee," he said.
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AAP accuses Chadha of indulging in 'soft PR', dodging key issues in Parliament
New Delhi (PTI): The AAP on Friday hit back at party MP Raghav Chadha, accusing him of shying away from raising issues against the Centre in Parliament and instead engaging in "soft PR".
Delhi Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) President Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that Chadha failed to toe the party's line on several matters in Parliament and did not join opposition walkouts on key issues.
"We all are soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal, the Centre doesn't care about soft PR or talking about samosas at airport canteens when bigger issues are at stake," Bharadwaj said in a video posted on X.
"Whenever the Opposition staged a walkout in Parliament, you (Chadha) did not participate. You did not raise issues concerning Punjab, from where you are elected, and you hid in a foreign country when former Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was arrested," he added.
AAP national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda also criticised Chadha, questioning whether someone who "fears" Prime Minister Narendra Modi can fight for the country.
"In West Bengal, the right to vote is being snatched away. When a proposal against the CEC came up in the House, you (Chadha) refused to sign it," Dhanda said on X.
"In Parliament, we get limited time to speak, and it can be used either to fight for the nation or discuss trivial matters like cheaper samosas at airport canteens," Dhanda said, adding that Chadha has been hesitant to speak on "real issues" for the last few years.
The remarks came after Chadha earlier in the day said he was "silenced, not defeated", a day after being removed as the AAP's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha.
