MP News: BJP Govt Taking Away Voting Rights Through SIR, Says Ex-CM Digvijaya Singh

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Former Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh and senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha alleged that democracy was in peril due to a lack of transparency in the election process.

They were addressing media persons at Geeta Bhawan Square on Constitution Day, on Wednesday.

Singh alleged that PM Narendra Modi tried to protect the image of the Election Commission by collecting signatures from 272 retired judges, IAS and IPS officers, many of whom are linked to the BJP or RSS and have serious allegations of corruption against them. He claimed that people from whose houses crores of rupees were recovered are now supporting the Election Commission, which, according to him, has “completely given up honesty.”

He added that Congress is running a nationwide campaign to save the Constitution and that the biggest responsibility lies with the youth, who must come forward to secure the country’s future.

Singh warned that the BJP government is taking away voting rights through the SIR process. He alleged that more than 65 lakh citizens were deprived of voting rights during the Bihar elections and that Election Commission appeared to be working like a “puppet of the Modi government.” He said that if citizenship and voting rights are taken away and voter lists are changed as per political convenience, the country will no longer remain a democracy but turn into a system controlled by a few.

Rajya Sabha MP and senior advocate Vivek Tankha also called the SIR process unconstitutional. He said that removing names from the voter list without proper procedure is a direct attack on democratic rights. Tankha added that BLA workers involved in the SIR process are facing pressure, and there is a complete lack of transparency. He warned that if the process continues, it will  damage the credibility of elections in India.

The event was attended by a large number of Congress leaders and workers, including city Congress president and Leader of Opposition in the Municipal Corporation Chintu Chouksey, district Congress president Vipin Wankhede and several senior leaders such as Rajesh Chouksey, Vinay Bakliwal, Surjit Singh Chaddha, Raju Bhadoriya, Raja Chouksey, Ramesh Yadav Ustad and others. During the programme, Digvijaya Singh and Vivek Tankha honoured BLA workers engaged in SIR process.