BJP's Dhillon questions Mann on voter list revision claims

Chandigarh, October 23: The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party has accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of making confusing claims about the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. State BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon made the remarks on Friday, following the Chief Minister's speech in the assembly.

Dhillon described the Chief Minister's stance as baffling. He said the state is governed by the AAP, that the SIR process was completed by officials answerable to the state government, and that Mann himself had overseen the exercise. In his view, it was odd for the same government to now question the outcome.

He explained that the entire revision had been carried out through the state's administrative setup. From district-level deputy commissioners and sub-divisional magistrates down to officers at the booth level, every employee involved worked under the state administration, he said. The Centre, according to Dhillon, played no role at all.

Dhillon also questioned the consistency of the ruling party's messaging. If the SIR had seen mistakes, he asked, why had senior party leaders told the Election Commission that everything was fine?

He highlighted what he called a divide within the government. Even as the Chief Minister raised allegations of irregularities in the assembly, Dhillon said, party functionaries were assuring the poll panel that the process was on track.

The BJP leader issued a direct challenge to Mann, asking him to identify at least one voter in Punjab whose name had been wrongly struck off the rolls. Dhillon warned that any genuine lapse would be a serious concern, and that the state government would be responsible for it.

Dhillon went further, calling the Chief Minister's remarks proof of an incapable administration. He argued that the government had lost its ability to reason clearly and take sound decisions, and suggested that Mann no longer had faith in his own ministers and officials.

He recalled that when the SIR exercise started in Punjab, Mann had promised that no voter would be removed from the electoral roll in the state. Dhillon said that if any name had been removed improperly, the Chief Minister would have to respond to the public.

He stressed that unsubstantiated accusations against the Centre could not shield Mann from accountability.