Smriti Irani cornered the Congress at a press conference on Tuesday, accusing the opposition of selectively undermining India’s constitutional framework. "Is Congress leadership giving a clean chit to the EC in states like Himachal, Punjab, Kerala, Karnataka, where the BJP is not in power?" she asked, turning the party’s recent protests against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) back on its own record.
The confrontation follows a wave of nationwide protests led by Congress, other opposition parties, and the self-styled Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), who have been demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The crisis ignited after an Indian Express report alleged that Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu raised 14 objections over ten months regarding the SIR process, specifically concerning the inclusion of Form 6.
Irani dismissed these allegations as a coordinated effort to distract from the Congress’s electoral defeats. "Instead of introspecting on its defeat, the Congress is attacking the election commission," she stated, emphasizing that the EC embodies the dignity of Indian democracy and is admired globally. She further pressed the party on a specific technical point: "Why does the Congress party want the names of deceased voters to be restored in electoral rolls?"
The political temperature continues to rise as the opposition doubles down on the 'voter chori' narrative, citing the internal dissent among EC officials. The government, however, maintains that the SIR is a necessary measure to purify electoral rolls. With no immediate resolution in sight, both sides are preparing for further legal and political battles in the coming weeks, potentially impacting the timeline for upcoming state elections.