BJP: Opposition Is Tarnishing Poll Panel

 New Delhi: Sharpening its attack on the Opposition bloc’s protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the BJP on Sunday accused them of spreading lies to weaken and insult constitutional institutions like the Election Commission, thereby denting India’s credibility.

A day after RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed his name was missing from the draft electoral roll, the BJP demanded that he explain why he allegedly holds two EPIC numbers and whether he submitted false documents to the Election Commission. When the poll body refuted his claim, it asked Yadav to hand over the purported voter ID card, which it says was never officially issued, for investigation.

Pressing Yadav, the BJP questioned whether he had lied under oath or filed a false affidavit during the last Assembly polls. The party alleged that the Opposition has been consistently attacking constitutional bodies with misleading narratives as part of a conspiracy to undermine India’s integrity.

“Congress and RJD have been thoroughly exposed,” BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said. “Did you lie under oath? Did you present incorrect facts to the Election Commission?”

On Saturday, Yadav had demonstrated an online search using an EPIC number to claim his name was missing from the draft rolls published after the SIR exercise. When the authorities rebutted him, he alleged that his voter ID number had been “changed.”

The BJP noted that the EPIC number Yadav used in his 2020 nomination affidavit differs from the one he cited on Saturday. “When their top leader appears on television showing two different EPIC numbers, what does that say about those in the RJD and Congress who once relied on booth capturing and hooliganism to win votes? Has the transparency of this SIR exercise upended their entire strategy? Is that why Tejashwi Yadav is afraid of SIR?” asked a BJP MP, suggesting it proved RJD members had cast votes in multiple locations to inflate their support.

“The truth about the RJD and Congress is now out in the open,” the BJP leader added. “Sensing defeat, they are reacting like an ‘antiseptic bell’, ringing for attention but ultimately futile.”