Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan back Centre on SIR amid opposition attack

New Delhi: Key NDA allies, TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu and Jana Sena Party leader Pawan Kalyan, have thrown their weight behind the Modi government over the contentious special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, even as the Opposition steps up its attack on the functioning of the Election Commission of India.

The show of support from the two NDA partners comes ahead of a Congress rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1, where the party is expected to sharpen its attack on the Modi government by demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Addressing a joint press conference with deputy CM Pawan Kalyan and Andhra Pradesh BJP president PVN Madhav on Tuesday, Naidu accused the INDIA bloc of questioning the electoral process whenever election results went against it.

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Naidu pointed out that electronic voting machines were introduced under a Congress government and questioned why Opposition parties considered the same machines reliable when they won elections but raised doubts about their credibility after defeats. Countering the INDIA bloc's criticism of SIR, Naidu said that booth-level agents of all political parties had been invited to participate in the enumeration exercise, with booth-level officers coordinating the process. He questioned why Opposition parties failed to raise objections while the exercise was underway.

Naidu also targeted his political rival, YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, accusing him of changing his position on SIR according to political convenience. Naidu described Reddy's shifting stand as a "convenience game". Recalling past instances of booth rigging, Naidu said that the introduction of CCTV surveillance had brought greater oversight to the electoral process.

The joint press conference assumes significance as BJP faces sustained opposition criticism over SIR, with Congress and other INDIA bloc constituents questioning ECI's impartiality.