Bhubaneswar: Biju Janata Dal (BJD) participated in the opposition parties’ protest march in New Delhi over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the alleged deletion of the names of more than 13 crore voters across the country.
The opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the issue.
As directed by BJD president and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Naveen Patnaik, the party’s Members of Parliament will participate in the protest march. BJD Parliamentary Party Leader in the Rajya Sabha Manas Mangaraj informed the media about the party’s decision.
The BJD supremo had already demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over his controversial role in the SIR exercise, he said.
The alleged exclusion of more than 20 lakh voters in Odisha and over 13 crore voters across the country in the name of SIR has raised serious concerns. The incident in Dhamnagar in Bhadrak district has further strengthened these apprehensions. The deletion of 227 votes belonging to members of a minority community from a particular area, allegedly without the knowledge of the BLOs concerned, raises serious questions about the integrity of the SIR exercise.
The BJD has alleged that thousands of voters have reportedly been excluded from the electoral rolls in the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency alone. At the same time, the voluntary retirement application submitted by the State Chief Electoral Officer has raised further questions and concerns.
The Supreme Court’s observations regarding the modification of Form 6 have also raised serious questions about the Election Commission’s earlier directions concerning the SIR exercise. The Court clarified that no such direction had been issued by it, contrary to what had earlier been indicated by the Election Commission. This, Mangaraj said, raises serious questions regarding the role of CEC Gyanesh Kumar in the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls.
The BJD has maintained equal distance from both the INDIA bloc and the NDA. However, as a responsible political party committed to protecting democratic institutions and the integrity of the electoral process, the BJD will participate in today’s programme, he said.
Meanwhile, security has been tightened in central Delhi in view of the Opposition march. Delhi Police, the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and other security personnel have been deployed in large numbers, with barricades put up around Parliament and the ECI office.
