New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday launched a sharp attack on the Opposition INDIA bloc over its march to the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India (ECI), accusing the Congress-led alliance of creating a political spectacle over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Congress-led INDIA bloc was marching towards the Supreme Court, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the controversy surrounding the SIR exercise. Opposition leaders have alleged irregularities in the revision process and raised concerns over the electoral rolls, while the BJP has defended the exercise and accused the Congress of politicising the issue.
The INDIA bloc leaders had also sought an appointment with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant to discuss their concerns. However, the CJI declined their request and advised them to approach the court through a petition in accordance with established legal procedure.
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi announced that Opposition leaders would march towards the apex court later in the day to initiate the legal process and appealed to citizens to join their campaign in support of the Constitution and democracy.
Reacting to the development, BJP national spokesperson Guru Prakash, speaking to IANS, dismissed the Opposition’s allegations, saying the Supreme Court had already ruled on the constitutional validity of the SIR exercise.
“This is baseless… They are lying. The Supreme Court has already ruled on the constitutionality of SIR,” Prakash said.
“The main issue is that Congress is losing wherever elections are being held. It is also losing wherever elections are conducted using ballot papers. The Congress lost in Silchar, Assam, in local elections in Tripura and in Himachal Pradesh,” he said.
Bihar Minister Ram Kripal Yadav also criticised the Opposition’s move, arguing that constitutional institutions must be allowed to function independently and exercise the powers vested in them under the Constitution.
Speaking to IANS, he said the Supreme Court had made its position clear regarding the request for a meeting.
“If constitutional institutions are not provided security and are unable to exercise the powers granted to them under constitutional provisions, it is certainly a matter of concern, and democracy will not survive. The beauty of Indian democracy is that our ancestors fought very hard to achieve independence,” Yadav said.
He also accused the Congress of lacking “substantive political issues” and claimed that the party was struggling to raise fresh concerns against the government.
Meanwhile, BJP MP Sanjay Jaiswal criticised Bihar Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav for joining the INDIA bloc’s march, questioning the Opposition’s claims about the difficulties faced by people during the SIR exercise in Bihar.
Speaking to reporters, Jaiswal said, “Tejashwi Yadav should first find one person in Bihar who has faced a problem with SIR. Bihar was the first state in the country where SIR was conducted. For 15 days, the poor man stood in the third row of Rahul Gandhi’s jeep and travelled across Bihar. Even after touring the entire state for 15 days, he could not bring forward a single person… It is actually good for us that they raise issues that no one has any problem with.”
Maharashtra BJP MLA Ram Kadam also took aim at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the march, arguing that political leaders must follow established judicial procedures when seeking the court’s intervention.
“Rahul Gandhi’s understanding appears incomplete, or his advisers have not guided him properly. There is a difference between the judiciary and the executive. A march to a Collector’s office or a political party’s office is understandable. However, when approaching the judiciary, whether a leader, actor, senior minister or even the government, a petition must be filed as per the established procedure. If such a senior leader is unaware of something so basic, people should reconsider what he can offer the country…” Kadam said.
Former BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh also criticised the Opposition’s decision to seek a meeting with the Chief Justice, accusing its leaders of attempting to exert pressure on constitutional institutions.
“For the first time, protesters were willing to meet the Chief Justice. They wanted to meet the President, and the President met them and heard their concerns. Now, they do not want to spare even the Supreme Court. They want to pressurise democracy,” Singh said.
–IANS
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