Public awareness campaign on SIR: Cong remembers 'faulty EVMs' only after losing elections, says Karnataka BJP

Hubballi (Karnataka), Oct 31 (IANS) Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Opposition leader R. Ashoka on Saturday took a sarcastic jibe at the Congress-led Karnataka government and said that "when Congress loses elections, its leaders suddenly remember that EVMs are faulty. However, when they (Congress) win, everything is fine".

Speaking at a press conference, Ashoka said the BJP is conducting a public awareness campaign across the country to protect democracy, uphold the ideals of the Constitution, and safeguard the unity and integrity of the nation. 

"However, the Congress party follows a double standard: when it wins elections, it claims there is no threat to democracy; when it loses, it portrays democracy as being in danger."

"Congress has lost more than 59 Assembly elections between 2014 and 2025, yet it refuses to accept the people's verdict. The Election Commission or the voter list is not the reason for its defeats; the primary reason is the lack of public confidence in Rahul Gandhi's leadership. If the leadership is not changed, the party has no future."

"In states where Congress is in power -- Karnataka, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh and others -- it accepts that elections were conducted fairly and accepts the mandate. But when it loses in other states, it levels allegations against the election process, the voter list and the Election Commission," Ashoka noted.

"Congress had already lost more than 59 Assembly elections even before the SIR process began. Blaming SIR for its defeats after the process started is ridiculous. People are rejecting the Congress party. Voters are no longer in a position to vote just by looking at Rahul Gandhi's face. Without a change in leadership, Congress cannot win," he said.

"Congress is misleading people on the SIR issue. There are no clear statistics on how many votes have been illegally removed. How many people in Karnataka have officially filed appeals claiming their voting rights were taken away? Who are these complainants? Even now, if a name is missing from the voter list or any correction is needed, there is an opportunity to file an appeal. Yet Congress is creating confusion among people without any basis," Ashoka added.

"Through the SIR process, deceased voters, those who have shifted, and those with names in more than one place are being identified and action is being taken. Even Congress leader Kapil Sibal has spoken about such problems in the voter lists. There is a large number of deceased persons in the country. Removing such names from the voter list is a natural process. What is wrong in identifying and removing fake and duplicate voters? Should the names of the dead be kept in the list? Should fake voters be given an opportunity?" he asked.

"In Karnataka alone, the names of about 24.17 lakh deceased voters have been removed. About 7.14 lakh duplicate voter registrations have been detected and removed. Such steps should be welcomed, not opposed. The Constitution's ideal is "one vote for the President of India and one vote for the ordinary citizen". A person should not have the right to vote in two places. The SIR process is being carried out precisely to prevent such irregularities."

"In Bengaluru city, the average voter turnout over the past twenty years has not crossed 45–48 per cent. In rural areas, turnout is 80–90 per cent. Earlier, various reasons were given for low voter turnout in Bengaluru. Now the flaws in the voter list are also coming to light. In the Padmanabhanagar Assembly constituency alone, there are about one lakh voters," Ashoka said.

"Bengaluru has a large number of people who have settled here from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and other states. Many of them may have retained their voting rights in their native places while also being registered in Bengaluru. Some choose their native place as their polling centre. In such cases, is it wrong to remove unnecessary names? Implementing the constitutional ideal of one person, one vote is the duty of the Election Commission," the Opposition leader asked.

"In the recently held Legislative Council elections, the NDA won all four seats. These elections were held through ballot papers. If, as Congress claims, irregularities are happening in EVMs, shouldn't Congress have won in the ballot elections? Congress leaders themselves had earlier said they would win two seats and the BJP could win the other two. What do they say now after the results? Congress has lost even on ballot paper. Congress has now received a hard blow even on the ballot," Ashoka said sarcastically.

"It has become Congress' habit to allege that EVMs are wrong, SIR is wrong, and the voter list is wrong only when it loses. When it wins, everything is fine. Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge is advising the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and fresh elections. Before advising us, let Congress dissolve the Assemblies of the four states it rules and face elections. After winning there, it can advise Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold elections. What justice is there in saying "no elections when we win, the system is wrong only when we lose"? he added.

"In a democracy, everyone has the right to protest. The BJP has also conducted struggles. Congress can also protest. But threatening to create riots and disturbances on the model of Nepal and Bangladesh is against the spirit of democracy. The people of this country will never support such attempts at anarchy," Ashoka underlined.

"Today Congress has no political agenda or identity of its own. There are many allegations about the influence of external forces, including funding from America. The party that claims a 120-year history is today struggling to preserve its existence. The contribution of Mahatma Gandhi to the freedom struggle cannot be forgotten. After independence, Gandhi's wish was that the Congress party should be dissolved. But today the people of the country are watching what state Congress has reached," Ashoka said.

--IANS

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