P Chidambaram challenges BJP President Nitin Nabin to provide evidence for claims of 3 crore infiltrators and questions the mass deletion of 13 crore names from electoral rolls while demanding transparency in the government’s revision process.
Chidambaram Challenges BJP Narrative on Infiltrators
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Monday posed a series of five pointed questions to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National President Nitin Nabin, challenging his remarks on “infiltrators” and questioning the deletion of over 13 crore names from official records. In a post shared on social media platform X, the Congress leader questioned the basis and data behind the BJP chief’s statements. “Who are the 3 crore infiltrators you spoke about yesterday? Has the central government and the state governments identified them?” Chidambaram asked.
Questioning claims made regarding Haryana, the former Union Minister said, “You said the people of Haryana know who the infiltrators are. If the people know, the government of Haryana must also know. Why doesn’t the state government publish their names and take action against them?” Chidambaram asserted that there is no political cover being extended to illegal migrants, urging the government to follow due process. “No one is protecting the infiltrators; please identify the infiltrators and take action against them according to law,” he noted.
Disputing Mass Deletions and Legal Appeals
Raising questions over massive deletions, he further asked, “If there are 3 crore infiltrators, why did you delete 13,30,00,000 names (except the dead)?” Chidambaram cited the high success rate of legal appeals in West Bengal to counter the ruling party’s narrative. “What about the persons (91-93%), among the deleted, who won their Appeals in West Bengal? Are they infiltrators too?” he questioned.
BJP’s Stance and Political Campaigns
Chidambaram’s questions come after Nabin on Sunday led a massive ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ (Save Democracy, Eradicate Anarchy) padyatra in Rohtak, Haryana, where he targeted the Congress over its position on the SIR exercise, alleging that the party had more faith in infiltrators than in the country’s electorate. “You (Congress) have no faith in the country’s 1.4 billion people. In whom, then, do you place your trust? In 3 crore infiltrators! I ask you, Rahul Gandhi: what exactly is your intention? Why do you challenge democracy? In a democracy, the mandate of the people is paramount; and whenever the people have cast their votes, you have faced defeat. When you receive the people’s mandate—as you did in Himachal Pradesh or when you win in Karnataka—you claim that democracy has triumphed. Yet, when you lose in Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or Bengal, you suddenly declare that democracy is in danger. What kind of double standard is this?” Nabin questioned.
The BJP organised the padyatra as part of its nationwide ‘Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao’ campaign, launched to counter the Opposition’s allegations and protests over the SIR of electoral rolls. The Congress on Sunday organised a rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR exercise, alleging irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls. (ANI)
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