Union Coal and Mines Minister and senior BJP leader G. Kishan Reddy on Thursday criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy over their comments on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, accusing the party of raising “baseless allegations” about the electoral process.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Mr. Kishan Reddy said both leaders should visit West Bengal and see the impact of the voter roll revision exercise before criticising it. He claimed that the process had helped remove bogus voters and improve the integrity of electoral rolls.
“The increase in voter turnout in Bengal is due to the SIR exercise, which became possible after eliminating fake votes. Does the Congress want the names of deceased persons and those who have shifted to Bangladesh to be included again? In Telangana, some individuals reportedly have votes in two or three constituencies. Is it wrong to ensure that a voter is registered in only one constituency?” he asked.
The BJP leader targeted Mr. Revanth Reddy’s claims of electoral irregularities during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “If vote theft really occurred, what was his government doing then? he asked. It was ironic that the party which introduced EVMs was now questioning their credibility.
“Were EVMs functioning properly only in States where Congress or its allies performed well? If the BJP were manipulating EVMs, would we not have ensured victory everywhere?” he asked. Accusing the Chief Minister of making politically motivated statements, Mr. Kishan Reddy said Mr. Revanth Reddy should focus on governance and fulfilling election promises rather than levelling unfounded allegations.
The Union Minister criticised the Congress party’s stand on the Women’s Reservation Bill and delimitation, describing the CM’s suggestion on future delimitation be linked to Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as “impractical and unacceptable”.
The BJP favours increasing the number of parliamentary seats through a consensus-based approach increasing the number of seats by 50%. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had announced in Parliament to increase the seat count for Southern states from 129 to 195—aimed at ensuring fairness, but the Opposition continues to stubbornly block the bill’s progress, he said.
Mr. Kishan Reddy dismissed allegations that the BJP sought electoral gains through manipulation. “There is no need for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to steal votes. We only seek to win the hearts of the people,” he said.
Published – October 01, 2026 08:55 pm IST
