Bengaluru: A political exchange has erupted on social media between Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge and the state BJP over the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Kharge questioned why BJP leaders were defending the Election Commission instead of allowing the poll panel to respond directly to questions being raised over its functioning.
In a post on X, the minister said that if there was no wrongdoing, the Election Commission should address the concerns itself. He urged the poll panel to place the relevant information in the public domain, respond to questions and clarify the doubts surrounding the SIR exercise.
Kharge also criticised BJP leaders for what he described as acting as “unofficial spokespersons” for the Election Commission.
The Karnataka BJP responded on X, turning the criticism towards the Congress leadership. The party questioned why Congress leaders were targeting the Election Commission instead of examining their own organisational and political performance.
The BJP referred to the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, arguing that the Congress government came to power through an election conducted under the same Election Commission.
The party also rejected the suggestion that the Election Commission was responsible for electoral defeats and attributed Congress’s setbacks to what it described as weaknesses in leadership and governance.
The exchange comes amid an intensifying political debate over the SIR process and the role of the Election Commission. While opposition leaders have raised questions about the electoral-roll revision exercise, the Commission has maintained that its decisions relating to SIR were taken collectively.
The latest war of words between Kharge and the Karnataka BJP reflects the wider political disagreement over the electoral-roll revision process, with both sides continuing to demand accountability from their political opponents.