Telangana CM questions central govt over deletion of votes in India
Hyderabad, Oct. 10: Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy on Monday questioned the central government on why the voter count is decreasing when the country's population has been increasing.
Speaking at a Telangana Congress party meeting in New Delhi on Monday, Revanth Reddy alleged that the BJP government has deleted 13 crore votes so far with the SIR program. He mentioned that India had 81 crore voters in 2014, 91 crore in 2019 and 97 crore in 2024, and for the upcoming 2029 elections, the BJP is trying to remove 5 crore more votes.
He alleged that votes belonging to people who did not support the BJP were being deleted in the name of SIR. The Chief Minister also said that wherever the Election Commission (EC) conducted the SIR program, the BJP is forming governments.
"The Central government has given a task to CEC Gyanesh Kumar to delete anti-BJP votes in the country. The CEC has deleted votes in various states, especially from Dalits, tribals, minorities and youth in the country," he said.
Reddy said Congress is asking the central government: if the EC has been working independently, then why was no action taken against Gyanesh Kumar, even after the two other Commissioners said that the CEC was taking decisions unilaterally.
"If there is no deletion of rightful votes, then why BJP protecting Gyanesh Kumar? Why is the central government suppressing the peaceful protests against the resignation of the CEC over irregularities in the SIR program?" Reddy questioned the central government.
He questioned why the President and the Chief Justice of India were not raising the issue with Prime Minister Modi.
The Chief Minister alleged that the BJP was creating two categories of citizens — those whose voting rights were protected and those who were being deprived of their right to vote. He accused the Modi government of dividing citizens into two groups and expressed concern that people who lost their voting rights could also be deprived of government welfare schemes.
Describing the Congress protests in New Delhi against the SIR program as another freedom struggle, he said the opposition would continue its agitation along the lines of the "Simon Go Back" movement.
He alleged that the BJP had been using agencies such as the CBI, Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax Department to suppress its political opponents. He claimed that the SIR exercise was being implemented because the BJP feared it would lose the upcoming elections.
Revanth Reddy also alleged that artificial intelligence (AI) was being used to identify and delete votes belonging to people opposed to the BJP. He further claimed that the votes of young people who were criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media were also being removed.
(With inputs from PTI)
