K’taka BJP chief accuses Cong of double standards on SIR; questions Rahul Gandhi’s citizenship

Karnataka BJP Chief B.Y. Vijayendra slammed the Congress government for politicizing the Election Commission's voter roll revision, while accusing Home Minister Priyank Kharge of raising manufactured rows over RSS funding to mask fiscal deficits.

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra on Wednesday accused the Congress government of adopting a dual stand on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and alleged that it was provoking government officials to protest against constitutional institutions.

Addressing reporters in Bengaluru, Vijayendra said the revision of electoral rolls was a decision taken by the Election Commission and should not be politicised.

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“The Congress government is playing a dual role on the SIR issue. Officers are being provoked to stage protests by the government. The Election Commission’s exercise is intended to identify illegal immigrants, duplicate entries and deceased persons whose names continue to remain on electoral rolls,” he said.

The BJP leader also renewed allegations against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, claiming that questions remained over his citizenship status.

“I want to ask the Chief Minister Shivakumar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge… Rahul Gandhi should publicly clarify the allegations regarding dual citizenship. The Congress party must throw light on this issue,” Vijayendra said.

He accused the state government of creating conflict between the public, government officials and constitutional authorities, describing it as an “unpardonable offence”.

Targeting HM Priyank Kharge over his recent remarks on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Vijayendra said the minister was focusing on unnecessary controversies instead of addressing pressing issues facing the state.

“Priyank Kharge appears to believe that he is the Home Minister of the country rather than the state. The questions he has raised about the RSS are not new. There are more important issues that require attention,” he said.

Vijayendra urged the government to focus on alleged illegal immigration from Bangladesh, cases of “love jihad” and attacks on Hindu activists, rather than engaging in political controversies.

The BJP leader also criticised the Congress government over its financial management, alleging that it was struggling to mobilise resources and was scaling back development activities.

“The government should come clean about the state’s financial position. It has failed to mobilise adequate funds and is curtailing development works. In the last three years, the government has not been able to provide houses to the poor and farmers as promised,” he alleged.

Referring to recent discussions within Congress regarding the implementation of the state’s guarantee schemes, Vijayendra claimed that the government was preparing the ground to reduce or restrict benefits.

He cited remarks reportedly made by leaders associated with the Guarantee Implementation Committee, suggesting that tax-paying beneficiaries may not require assistance under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme.

“Some Congress leaders have argued that over 1.5 lakh women beneficiaries are income taxpayers and therefore do not require the Gruha Lakshmi benefit. If such beneficiaries are excluded, the government could save nearly Rs 60 crore. These statements indicate that the government is looking for ways to curtail the guarantee schemes,” he said.

Vijayendra also questioned the functioning of the Guarantee Implementation Committees, noting that they had been granted official recognition, offices and cabinet-rank positions funded by the state government.

“The government has appointed committee presidents at the district level and formed committees in every Assembly constituency. If there were irregularities in the implementation of the schemes, what were these committees doing all this time?” he asked.

Alleging that the Congress government was unable to sustain its flagship welfare programmes because of financial constraints, Vijayendra said the administration was now attempting to shift the blame for its shortcomings.

“This is the government’s failure. It has been unable to mobilise sufficient funds to continue the guarantee schemes and is now searching for ways to limit them,” he added.