Union Minister Joshi accuses Rahul Gandhi of blaming election body to hide failures

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi has claimed that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is protesting against the Election Commission of India out of desperation. Speaking to reporters in Hubballi on Wednesday, Mr. Joshi stated that blaming the poll panel for electoral losses is far from the truth. He alleged that the agitation is simply a way to cover up consecutive defeats in Lok Sabha and Assembly elections across various States.

Voter List Revisions

Addressing claims about missing names, Mr. Joshi dismissed allegations that 13 crore voters were wrongfully removed during the Special Intensive Revision as baseless. He explained that 3 crore of those voters have passed away and officials could not contact another 2.80 crore. A total of 6.80 crore voters have moved to other places, he added. He urged officials to put in effort to trace the voters they have not been able to reach so far.

State Government Role

Defending the actions of the Election Commission, the Union Minister maintained that voting rights cannot be given to anyone without proper checks. He called on the Congress government in Karnataka to make sure the revision process is carried out properly.

Context

Special Intensive Revision exercises are periodic updates conducted by election authorities to clean up electoral rolls by removing dead or relocated voters. Political disputes over voter lists often surface during election cycles when parties question the integrity of the voter database. Union Ministers frequently respond to opposition protests by defending constitutional bodies like the poll panel.