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New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said some political parties are on a mission to save infiltrators by opposing the voter verification drive being run by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The Home Minister’s sarcasm comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s urgent appeal to the Election Commission to stop the Special Intensive Review (SIR) – which is currently underway in 12 states, including three Union Territories.
Addressing an event in Gujarat, Home Minister Amit Shah said that stopping infiltration into the country is not only necessary but also the need of the hour as it threatens the country’s demography and democracy.
He said, “Preventing infiltration is not only necessary for the security of the country but also to protect our democratic system from being corrupted. Unfortunately, some political parties are opposing the ‘Remove Infiltrator’ campaign and voter list purification drive being run by the Election Commission under SIR.”
Reiterating his resolve to expel infiltrators and outsiders, he said that each and every infiltrator will be identified and thrown out of the country.
“It is the people of this country, not infiltrators, who will elect their representatives,” he said.
The Home Minister’s comments come just a day after Mamata Banerjee wrote a letter to the Election Commission, demanding a halt to the ongoing SIR process on the grounds of ‘isolating the general public and snatching away their right to vote’.
“I would request you to intervene decisively to stop the ongoing exercise, stop coercive measures, provide appropriate training and support and completely re-evaluate the current methodology and timelines,” Mamata Banerjee wrote in a letter to CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
He also claimed that many BLOs (Booth Level Officers) were under extreme pressure and fear of punitive action and were “resorting to submitting incorrect or incomplete entries, thereby risking disenfranchisement of genuine voters and destroying the integrity of the electoral roll”.
His letter drew a strong reaction from the BJP, including the state unit, which not only rejected his allegations but also accused him of trying to derail a legal process.
–IANS