Hyderabad: Union minister G Kishan Reddy alleged that the Congress, BRS and some other opposition parties were misleading the public and creating unnecessary fear instead of raising awareness about the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He said the exercise was a legal and constitutional process and that the Election Commission of India (ECI) would not halt it, as its responsibility is to ensure that every eligible Indian is granted voting rights while preventing ineligible persons, deceased individuals, duplicate entries and registrations without proper proof from remaining on the electoral rolls.“This is not the first time. It has been carried out many times in the past. It is a constitutional and independent process conducted entirely by the ECI. The Supreme Court has also issued guidelines on the SIR. Unfortunately, some political parties are viewing this process through a political lens, trying to mislead the public for political gain,” Kishan Reddy said at a press conference at the BJP state headquarters on Saturday.He said states such as Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala had witnessed high voter turnout in recent assembly elections after the SIR was carried out. The reason, he said, was that all ineligible and bogus votes had been removed.Kishan alleged that the AIMIM, BRS and Congress, including chief minister Revanth Reddy, were creating unnecessary fear among the public over the SIR. “Is it not a fact that many areas in Hyderabad have illegal migrants? Is it not true that many people have duplicate votes? Correcting all of this is the responsibility of the ECI,” the Union minister said.He condemned attempts to threaten officials involved in the exercise. Kishan warned that if anyone threatened govt employees carrying out the SIR, the BJP would stand by them and the ECI would take action against those responsible.
