Kishan Reddy defends the SIR EC process

Union Coal and Mines Minister and senior BJP leader G. Kishan Reddy on Thursday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy for their comments on the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of electoral rolls and accused the party of making “baseless allegations” about the election process.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Mr. Kishan Reddy said that both the leaders should visit West Bengal and see the impact of the electoral roll revision before criticizing it. He claimed that the process helped eliminate fake voters and improve the integrity of electoral rolls.

“The increase in voter turnout in Bengal is due to the SIR exercise, which was made possible after the removal of fake votes. Does the Congress want the names of deceased persons and those who have shifted to Bangladesh to be listed again? In Telangana, some individuals are said to have votes in two or three constituencies. Is it wrong to ensure that a voter is registered in only one constituency?” he asked.

The BJP leader took aim at Mr. Revanth Reddy’s allegations of electoral irregularities during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “If indeed there was vote theft, what was his government doing then?” he asked. It was ironic that the party that introduced EVMs is now questioning their credibility.

“Did the EVMs work properly only in states where the Congress or its allies did well? Had the BJP tampered with the EVMs, wouldn’t we have ensured victory everywhere?” he asked. Accusing the Chief Minister of making politically motivated statements, Mr. Kishan Reddy said that Mr. Revanth Reddy should focus on governance and fulfilling election promises rather than refuting baseless allegations.

Criticizing the Congress party’s stand on Women’s reservation and delimitation, the Union Minister termed the CM’s proposal to link future delimitation with Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as “impractical and unacceptable”.

The BJP favors increasing the number of seats in Parliament through a consensus-based approach, which will increase the number of seats by 50%. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has announced in Parliament that he will increase the number of seats for southern states from 129 to 195 – to ensure fairness, but he says the opposition continues to stubbornly block the bill’s progress.

Mr. Kishan Reddy rejected the allegation that the BJP was seeking electoral gains through rigging. “There is no need for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to steal votes. We are only trying to win people’s hearts,” he said.

Published – 01 Oct 2026 20:55 IST