Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari has levelled serious allegations against the Central government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), claiming that the Survey of Intensive Revision (SIR) is being misused to remove voters from electoral rolls.
Speaking at a “Seva Ke Adhikar Saptah” event on Sunday, the minister alleged that the BJP is conspiring to brand people as “infiltrators” and eliminate their names from the voter list under the guise of SIR.
Dr Ansari urged people to strongly oppose the process and went as far as suggesting that residents restrain Booth Level Officers (BLOs) if they arrive to collect information for SIR.
He further claimed that in Bihar, around 65 lakh names were removed from the voters’ list under the same process, resulting in an estimated loss of nearly 80 assembly seats for the Mahagathbandhan alliance.
According to him, this alleged move not only deprived thousands of citizens of their voting rights but also cast doubts on their citizenship. He warned that the BJP is now planning to implement similar tactics in West Bengal and then in Jharkhand.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Ansari said that several documents are now required to be submitted for inclusion in the electoral roll, which many people may not be able to provide.
This, he stated, increases the risk of voter exclusion. He clarified that the issue does not concern only Muslims but also affects tribal communities, Dalits, backward classes and all weaker sections of society. He cited the example of Bihar and urged public representatives to remain alert.
Reacting to the allegations, BJP said that Dr Ansari’s remarks were misleading and an attempt to stay in the headlines. The party said that the minister is making baseless claims without proper understanding of SIR.
BJP further accused the Jamtara district administration of functioning in favour of a political party and said it was concerned that such statements were made in the presence of the Deputy Commissioner.
The party said that BLOs are government employees who work under the direction of the Deputy Commissioner and should not be linked to any political party.
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