Agartala: A day after the INDIA bloc held a rally in Agartala, the ruling BJP in Tripura organised a rally in the city on Saturday in support of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying the exercise would protect the voting rights of genuine Indian citizens.Thousands of people from neighbouring subdivisions attended the rally and raised slogans against the Congress-CPM alliance in the state. Speakers at the rally alleged that the INDIA bloc parties were weakening the democratic character and sovereignty of the country, and warned that opposition to the revision process could deprive genuine Indian citizens of their voting rights.Addressing the gathering, BJP state president Abhishek Debroy questioned the intent behind the INDIA bloc’s “Save Democracy” rally. He alleged that the Opposition was creating controversy over the SIR as part of a broader strategy to destabilise govt.Debroy described the SIR as a constitutionally mandated exercise and said similar revisions had been carried out across the country at least 10 times during the Congress-led period. He accused Congress of taking a contradictory position by opposing a process it had previously overseen, attributing the change to the party’s successive electoral defeats.Debroy described the INDIA bloc as an alliance of Congress, Communist parties and other political groups. He alleged that the parties had joined hands to obstruct govt’s functioning and undermine its development initiatives.He said the public would reject what he described as the alliance’s attempts to disrupt governance and create unrest. The BJP leader also accused Congress and its allies of obstructing development under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s govt.Debroy said India had become the world’s fourth-largest economy and was aiming to become the third-largest. He alleged that the Opposition was unwilling to acknowledge the country’s economic progress.He further alleged that opposition parties were seeking to bring about a change in govt by creating unrest similar to events in Bangladesh and Nepal. Debroy portrayed the dispute over the SIR as part of a broader political strategy to undermine govt.The BJP state president urged citizens not to be misled by the INDIA bloc’s campaign against the revision process. He called on the public to remain vigilant and protect the country’s democratic and constitutional principles.
