Attacks on ECI part of conspiracy: Rajnath Singh

Defence Minister and senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh on Monday accused the opposition parties of attacking bodies such as the Election Commission of India as part of a conspiracy to weaken the institutions of the country.

Interjecting in a discussion on 150 years of Vande Matram in Lok Sabha, Singh said constant migration, deaths and rapid urbanisation lead to distortion of electoral rolls.

He said it leads to the interest of genuine voters getting hurt and therefore, there is a need to carry out exercises like the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list.

After Bihar, the Election Commission is conducting the SIR exercise in nine states and three Union territories to what it calls “purify the voters’ list”.

Parties which face imminent defeat or lose electoral battles question the very process and attack the constitutional bodies, Singh said, adding that the attack on the EC is part of a “conspiracy”.

Singh also said that it is an “injustice” to the nation to attack such institutions, which has been a part of the opposition’s political traditions.