SIR Row: MoS Somanna accuses Congress of defending illegal voters

Union Minister of State for Railways and Jal Shakti V Somanna on Tuesday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over its protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the party was opposing the exercise because it did not want illegal voters to be removed from the rolls.

In a post on X, the BJP MP from Tumakuru, Karnataka, said the Congress was staging a "drama of shedding crocodile tears" and attempting to mobilise public opinion against a process aimed at cleaning up the electoral rolls.

"It is not necessary for the Congress party that illegal voters, including Bangladeshis, be removed from India's voter list. That is why they are staging a drama of shedding crocodile tears," Somanna said. He further accused Opposition parties of trying to create anarchy and undermine democratic institutions in their bid to return to power, adding that citizens would reject such "anti-democratic acts".


His remarks come amid a widening political battle over the electoral roll revision exercise, with the Congress alleging that the process could disenfranchise genuine voters, while the BJP has defended it as a necessary step to ensure the integrity of elections.

A day earlier, Union Minister and JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy also targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of attempting to draw the Chief Justice of India into a political controversy over the issue.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kumaraswamy said Constitutional institutions and the offices they represent must be treated with due respect and should not be dragged into partisan political disputes.

The Karnataka BJP unit has also backed the revision exercise and intensified its criticism of the Congress. State BJP leaders have accused the party of politicising a routine electoral process and misleading voters about the exercise's objective.