Pune: BJP national vice-president and Maharashtra in-charge Baijayant Panda on Thursday said the Election Commission of India (ECI) is the victim of a false narrative being spread by the opposition over Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He added that it is BJP’s responsibility to protect national institutions.BJP has launched an aggressive defence of SIR of electoral rolls following INDIA bloc’s nationwide campaign against the exercise, which alleges discrepancies in the process. As part of BJP’s national programme to defend SIR, Panda visited Pune, where he criticised Congress and other opposition parties for their protests.“The same opposition had questioned the Indian Armed Forces after they carried out strikes across the border. Now, they are targeting another institution, ECI. It is BJP’s national responsibility to defend these institutions against the opposition’s false narrative,” Panda said.INDIA bloc has alleged discrepancies in the SIR exercise and accused ECI of favouring BJP. Countering the opposition, Panda claimed that Congress is trying to protect the names of ‘infiltrators’ who have been excluded during the SIR process. He said, “Around 3 crore voters’ names have been identified where, despite repeated attempts, verification could not be completed. Who are they? Those who have infiltrated our country are unable to prove their citizenship, and hence, they are not coming forward for verification.”“These infiltrators crossed the border and entered our country decades ago. The Congress thrives on vote-bank politics and is trying to protect these infiltrators by opposing the SIR. However, our govt will send them back to their respective countries,” Panda added.Differences within Mahayuti to be resolved soon, says PandaBJP national vice-president and Maharashtra in-charge Baijayant Panda on Thursday assured that the differences between the state units of BJP and Shiv Sena would be resolved soon.Panda’s statement comes against the backdrop of BJP and Shiv Sena functionaries engaging in a blame game following the alliance’s recent defeat in three of the five MLC seats in the state. BJP functionaries had accused Shiv Sena of failing to support their candidates, prompting a counter-attack from Sena members.Speaking on the issue, Panda said, “Our alliance is very strong, and we have managed to turn around the situation in Maharashtra. I want to assure everyone that whatever differences exist within the alliance will be resolved soon.”This marked Panda’s first visit to Pune after being appointed the state in-charge for BJP. Commenting on the internal tussle that fellow Mahayuti ally, NCP, is going through, Panda said, “They (NCP) will answer to that issue. As far as we are concerned, we will take the necessary steps to ensure that the state gets a strong and stable govt to serve the people of Maharashtra.”
