“Rahul Gandhi Wrote for Voter List Correction”: Pralhad Joshi

• Union Minister Pralhad Joshi defended Bihar’s voter roll revision (SIR).
• He claimed the process started due to Rahul Gandhi’s previous letter requesting corrections to the voter list.
• Joshi accused the opposition of hypocrisy, stating they oppose the EC’s actions despite their own prior demands.

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 20th July: Union Minister Pralhad Joshi today strongly criticized the Congress party regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. He asserted that the revision process was initiated at the explicit request of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who had previously sent a letter highlighting discrepancies in the voter list.

In an exclusive interview with NDTV, Joshi stated that SIR has “happened many times before this and its process is the same as before.” He clarified that any current difference in the process is primarily due to advancements in technology. “The Election Commission is doing it and those who are asking why the Election Commission is doing it — has Rahul Gandhi forgotten that he himself wrote a letter saying there are mistakes in the voter list and they should be corrected? And now, when the Election Commission is correcting it, he is saying our voters will be stolen,” Mr. Joshi remarked, highlighting what he perceives as a contradiction. “If work is done on his letter there is a problem. If it is not done, then there is a problem… these are the people who will oppose whatever you do,” he added.

The Bihar electoral roll revision has become a flashpoint, with more than 41 lakh voters reportedly at risk of exclusion from the final list, an increase from 35.6 lakh earlier this week. Opposition parties in Bihar have intensified their protests, alleging that their supporters are being deliberately left out.

On Saturday, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, an ally of the Congress, dispatched letters to leaders of 35 major parties across the country, seeking their solidarity. In his letter, Yadav characterized the ongoing SIR in Bihar as “a spectacle and a tragedy, disenfranchising large numbers of voters and shaking the very foundation of democracy.” He further contended that this is “a clear indication of how an ‘independent institution’ like the Election Commission is bent on eroding public confidence in the integrity of our electoral process.”