Itanagar: Union minister of state for external affairs and textiles Pabitra Margherita on Thursday accused Congress of politicising the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and thanked Arunachal Pradesh people for cooperating with the verification exercise.Addressing a news conference at the BJP state headquarters in Itanagar, along with the party’s chief spokesperson and Roing MLA Mutchu Mithi, Margherita said electoral-roll revision was a routine constitutional exercise aimed at ensuring accuracy and transparency in the electoral system. BJP framed its position under the slogan ‘Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy’.He questioned Congress’s opposition to SIR, pointing out that similar revisions had been carried out under successive govts, including Congress-led administrations.Margherita said around 22% of entries had been removed from Arunachal Pradesh’s existing electoral rolls after verification. These included entries of deceased voters, people who had shifted residence, voters whose whereabouts could not be traced and duplicate registrations.He credited the cooperation of residents across communities and political affiliations for the conduct of the exercise, and said the participation of people associated with different political parties had demonstrated the importance of public cooperation in electoral processes.He stressed the principle of ‘one voter, one valid registration’, while saying that no genuine voter should be excluded because of administrative or clerical errors. He urged voters whose names had been wrongly omitted to approach electoral authorities and seek inclusion or correction through the prescribed procedures.The minister urged Congress to substantiate its concerns with evidence and pursue legal remedies instead of creating public confusion. He said Election Commission should be allowed to discharge its constitutional responsibilities and that electoral-roll revision should not be linked to election outcomes, which are decided by voters.
