‘Biggest disenfranchisement in world’: Revanth targets BJP, EC over SIR | Hyderabad News
Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the BJP and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that nearly 13 crore citizens were being stripped of their voting rights and warning that such an exercise would amount to the largest disenfranchisement drive in the world.Speaking to the media in Delhi, Revanth questioned how the number of voters could decline when India’s population had crossed 140 crore and the electorate had grown in every election since 1952.He alleged that the BJP was creating two categories of voters:Those who supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi and whose votes would remain intact, and minorities, Dalits, tribals, OBCs and other marginalised sections whose votes, he claimed, were being removed.Invoking BR Ambedkar and the Constitution, Revanth said every Indian had been guaranteed the right to vote and questioned how 13 crore votes could suddenly disappear despite steady population growth. He noted that voter numbers had increased in every election, including the three Lok Sabha polls that brought Modi to power.The chief minister accused the BJP of dividing people based on religion, caste, region and language, while allegedly misusing central agencies to intimidate the opposition and weaken democratic institutions.“If the votes of 13 crore or more citizens are taken away, it will be the biggest disenfranchisement exercise in the world,” he said, adding that the issue went beyond the Congress or the INDIA bloc and concerned the future of Indian democracy.“Our party was formed to get Independence for India, not for power. We ensured India became free and every Indian got a vote,” he said.Revanth demanded the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the withdrawal of the SIR exercise, calling for the restoration of voting rights to every eligible citizen.He also demanded that PM Modi step down, saying people were prepared to defeat the BJP if their voting rights were curtailed.Warning that the loss of voting rights could pave the way for erosion of other constitutional protections, he said: “Either the BJP govt sacks CEC Gyanesh Kumar and reverses the SIR exercise and restores the vote of every citizen, or it will be consigned to the dustbin of Indian political history.”
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