Varanasi: BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra on Monday defended the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, saying it is an exercise to refine the lists and that the removal of names does not amount to theft.
Speaking to reporters in Varanasi, the Puri MP dismissed Rahul Gandhi's claim that 13 crore votes had been "stolen", and accused the Opposition of spreading confusion about the process.
He said the revision verifies entries of voters who are absent, have permanently relocated, are deceased or hold duplicate registrations, and that such exercises have been carried out before.
Booth-Level Officers conduct door-to-door verification, and political parties can field their own Booth-Level Agents to examine the lists, he said, asking why Opposition BLAs were not scrutinising them.
Patra said anyone missing from the rolls can be added by filing the prescribed form, and pointed to young voters being added as evidence that the youth were not being deprived of the franchise.
Citing the revision in West Bengal, he said Trinamool Congress candidates had won several Assembly constituencies where large numbers of names were reportedly removed, and argued that the Opposition's defeats stem from its own standing rather than the rolls.
He also raised concerns about infiltration in West Bengal, saying the right to vote should be reserved for Indian citizens.
(With inputs from PTI and media reports)
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