SIR exercise in vogue since 2002: P.V.N. Madhav

BJP State president P. V. N. Madhav on Sunday said the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been in practice since 2002, including during the Congress-led UPA regime.

Speaking at a state-level workshop on SIR organised by the party here, Mr. Madhav accused Opposition parties of raising objections for political mileage. He said their attempts to misrepresent the process would backfire.

Mr. Madhav said the exercise aims to reconcile voter lists in a transparent manner. He added that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had already clarified concerns about the exercise in the Lok Sabha.

He said the Election Commission of India has completed the exercise in four states. The Commission will launch it in 22 states on April 1.

Mr. Madhav said Andhra Pradesh will soon take up the SIR exercise. He urged BJP cadres to extend full support and help ensure its success.

Shrikant Sharma, MLA from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, made a presentation at the workshop. He explained how officials carry out the SIR exercise in a systematic manner.

Workshop convener and MLA Nallamilli Ramakrishna Reddy said Parliament had already held an extensive debate on the issue. He said Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders had their doubts clarified. Despite this, they continued to raise objections for political reasons, he alleged.

Mr. Ramakrishna Reddy said authorities must remove the names of infiltrators from voter lists in West Bengal. He alleged that Mr. Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and others opposed the move as part of a political conspiracy.

Health minister Y. Satya Kumar Yadav, MP Daggubati Purandheswari, MLCs Somu Veerraju and Pothula Sunitha, MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju, and 20-Point Programme chairman Lanka Dinakar also addressed the workshop.