BJP Dares Rahul to Debate INDIA Bloc, Karnataka Leaders on SIR, Not PM Modi

Bengaluru: BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Thursday challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to debate his allegations on the SIR of electoral rolls with his INDIA bloc allies and Karnataka Congress leaders, accusing him of "spreading misinformation" and creating confusion over the exercise.

Patra said Gandhi should debate with AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Karnataka PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, instead of challenging Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"Rahul Gandhi, a leader with no data, only 'Galata' (noise)," he said at a press conference here.

Patra was here to debunk the opposition's allegation that the BJP was misusing the ongoing SIR process in the country.

Patra's press conference came just a day after Union Minister Jitendra Singh's press meet to clarify the SIR process.

The Puri MP alleged that Rahul preferred creating a ruckus to engaging in parliamentary debate.

Responding to Gandhi's reported challenge to Modi for a debate, Patra said Parliament was the appropriate forum for democratic discussions and accused the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha of lacking the patience to sit through proceedings.

"A person who cannot sit in the Parliament for five to six minutes at a stretch, of course will not want to have a debate in the Parliament. He would rather prefer a street brawl than a Parliament," he said.

Patra suggested that Gandhi first resolve contradictions within the INDIA bloc, pointing to his criticism of the AAP government in Punjab despite being allied with Kejriwal, and his earlier remarks against the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal.

He also challenged Gandhi to debate Jarkiholi, citing the Karnataka minister's reported statement that there were no major issues with the SIR exercise in the state and that names of deceased voters should be deleted.

During a press conference on October 29, Jarkiholi said, "The SIR in Karnataka was done in the right manner because of our (Congress) protests and training. We argue that it should happen in the same manner in other states."

On the SIR exercise, Patra rejected the Congress allegation of 13 crore votes being stolen and said the deletions were largely on account of voters being absent, shifted, deceased or having duplicate entries.

"Anyone who is dead, should the name not be cut off and struck off from the electoral roll?" he asked, defending the deletion of names of deceased voters.

He said around three crore voters were marked absent, 2.80 crore deceased, 6.3 crore had shifted and one crore had duplicate entries across the country, adding that the figures were part of an ongoing exercise and eligible voters could re-enrol by submitting Form 6.

According to Patra, around three crore people had not responded to notices issued by the Election Commission and alleged, without presenting specific evidence, that they could be infiltrators.

He accused the Congress and other opposition parties of "opposing" the SIR process to protect their vote banks, alleging that illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya immigrants were being allowed to remain on electoral rolls.

The BJP leader said the Election Commission was a constitutional body and it was the responsibility of political parties to defend such institutions against attacks.

He also questioned the Congress's allegations despite the presence of booth-level agents of political parties during the electoral-roll revision process.

"If you had the data, so you should have objected. So why create a 'galata' when you did not object?" he asked.

Patra further charged Congress leaders with "making objectionable" remarks against Hindu religious figures and temples, referring to statements attributed to Neha Bora and Rahul Gandhi.

He said the BJP would continue holding press conferences across states to counter what it described as "misinformation" surrounding the SIR exercise.

Patra also referred to an alleged incident in which Gandhi purportedly elbowed and pushed Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar during a protest against SIR in New Delhi, asking Shivakumar to hold a press conference and explain what had happened.