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Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday slammed the Congress over the INDIA bloc's protest against the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the party questions the electoral process only when election results do not favour it.
Speaking to ANI here, Chouhan defended the need for a "clean voter list" and accused the Congress of attempting to protect what he called "fake votes". "Why does the Congress have such an affinity for fake votes? Do they know that Congress's politics can only survive if fake votes exist? They are trying to protect these fake votes. I reiterate that a clean voter list is the soul of democracy; the purity of democracy depends on having an accurate voter list. But whenever the process of purification takes place, the Congress loses its composure," Chouhan said. He questioned the Opposition's allegations of "vote theft", citing elections in states where the Congress and other Opposition parties have won. "They have lost their balance. You talk about vote theft - but what happened in Karnataka, Himachal, Keralam, Jharkhand, and Punjab? If you win, democracy is fine, and the voter list is in order. If you lose, it's theft," he said. Chouhan also criticised the conduct of the Opposition during its protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying political parties should follow democratic norms while expressing dissent. "Those who have consistently looted the country while in power are now talking about theft. Having suffered defeat after defeat, they have become so frustrated that they have resorted to making threats and behaving inappropriately," he said. He added that the Leader of the Opposition should adhere to democratic norms and said that electoral defeats should prompt political parties to introspect rather than target constitutional institutions. "In a democracy, there are norms of conduct for dissent, especially for someone holding a position like Leader of the Opposition. Their frustration over defeat is turning into bitterness, and they are losing their composure. Everyone is being threatened and intimidated. Threats will not work," Chouhan said. The Union Minister said the Congress should focus on understanding why voters have supported the BJP rather than attributing its electoral losses to institutions. "They need to understand why the BJP wins, and the Congress loses. If (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi resides in the hearts of the people, you cannot remove him - or the BJP or the NDA - simply by issuing threats. That requires going among the people and working hard. Yet, after losing, they blame constitutional institutions," he said. Chouhan's remarks came as Rahul Gandhi led INDIA bloc MPs in a march from Parliament towards the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. The march was stopped by police near the NITI Aayog area, after which Opposition leaders staged a sit-in. The Opposition has accused the Election Commission of failing to address its concerns over voter-list revisions and has demanded greater transparency in the SIR process. The INDIA bloc had announced a broader "Save Democracy" campaign, including protests against the CEC and the SIR exercise. Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the electoral process was being undermined and has sought a meeting with the Election Commissioners to raise the Opposition's concerns. The BJP, however, has defended the electoral revision process and accused the Opposition of questioning institutions after electoral setbacks. The political confrontation over SIR comes amid continuing debate over voter-list revisions, Form 6 and the role of the Election Commission, with the Opposition demanding answers from the poll panel and the ruling side defending the exercise. (ANI)
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