Jammu, Sep 27: J&K Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president and Rajya Sabha MP Sat Sharma on Sunday launched a sharp attack on the Congress and other opposition parties for, what he alleged, “a deliberate campaign of lies against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and attempting to drag a constitutional institution into partisan politics.”
Sharma, accompanied by J&K BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi and spokesperson Arun Gupta, while addressing a press conference at party headquarters, Trikuta Nagar, maintained the ECI’s joint clarification exposed the narrative being built by Congress around alleged differences among the Election Commissioners.
He said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, along with Election Commissioners Dr S S Sandhu and Dr Vivek Joshi collectively clarified that decisions relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had the approval of the full Commission.
The ECI also clarified that the communication to the cabinet secretary concerned an officer on deputation and was not related to Commission policy or Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Sat Sharma accused Congress of picking up a newspaper report and trying to convert it into a political controversy, while also attempting to establish a connection between the ECI and BJP with malicious intentions.
“Constitutional bodies function under the Constitution, not under the direction of any political party,” he said.
He accused Congress of having a history of undermining constitutional and national institutions, saying that during the emergency, the party had assaulted democratic institutions and that it repeatedly targeted the Election Commission, judiciary and even the Indian Army for political purposes.
J&K BJP president said the Congress questioned EVMs, the Election Commission and other institutions whenever political circumstances went against it.
On SIR, Sat Sharma questioned why Congress was opposing the Election Commission’s efforts to ensure that electoral rolls contain genuine and eligible voters. “If the Commission is taking action to identify and remove illegal or ineligible entries, what is Congress’s objection? Does Congress support illegal voting?” he asked.
The J&K BJP president demanded a public apology from the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and the Congress leadership, saying attempts to discredit constitutional institutions during elections or on other politically important occasions could not be accepted.
J&K BJP chief spokesperson Sunil Sethi said the Congress-led opposition had raised a completely misleading question mark over the ECI on the basis of an unverified narrative.
He said after the full Commission clarified its position, including on SIR, Congress should stop creating confusion around constitutional institutions. The BJP, Sethi said, would not tolerate deliberate attempts to undermine institutional credibility.
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