The fight between the Congress and the BJP over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Telangana's voter rolls continues. Speaking in Hyderabad, BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao said CM A. Revanth Reddy is spreading lies about SIR and challenged him to show proof that votes were deleted.
The BJP's case
Rao said not a single voter has come forward to say their vote was deleted. He accused Rahul Gandhi and Revanth Reddy of misleading people with the "vote chori" charge. He announced rallies under the theme "Save Democracy – Fight Against Anarchy": Hyderabad on November 1, Siddipet on November 3 or 4, and Karimnagar on November 5.
The Congress case
Revanth Reddy alleges the BJP wants to win elections by deleting votes through SIR. He says Adivasis, Dalits, minorities, women and the poor are the targets, and that after West Bengal and Maharashtra, Telangana is next. He also said PM Narendra Modi is creating two classes of citizens: those who can vote and those who cannot.
What the numbers show
- As of Thursday, 32,214 electors across 119 constituencies were found ineligible, according to the Chief Electoral Officer's office. The number may rise as hearings continue.
- Rangareddy district has the most, at 9,092.
- About 73.39 lakh entries fall under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate category.
- The final rolls are due on November 9. Eligible voters left out can apply with Form 6.
