New Delhi, October 8, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress leader P. Chidambaram on Thursday hit back at BJP president Nitin Nabin’s “anarchist” charge against the Opposition over protests against the Election Commission’s alleged “unilateral and biased” decisions, asking why the poll panel was forced to hold special camps to re-enrol voters left out of electoral rolls.
Chidambaram alleged that sustained protests by the Congress, INDIA bloc parties, student groups and civil society activists had compelled the Election Commission and state Chief Electoral Officers to respond to concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
He also claimed that the protests led to the Election Commission acknowledging “internal dissent” over the process and alleged that established procedures were bypassed during the revision.
Nabin, speaking in Varanasi at the conclusion of the ‘Seva Sankalp Abhiyan’, had accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of fighting for “ghuspaithiyas” (infiltrators) and alleged that the Opposition was working with an “anarchist mindset” to create confusion among people.
Nabin also claimed that Gandhi was “shielding infiltrators” and said the deletion of such names through the SIR process could not be described as an attack on democracy.
Responding to the allegations, Chidambaram questioned why the Election Commission was conducting special camps to re-enrol voters who had been left out if the deleted names actually belonged to infiltrators.
“If those names that were deleted from the electoral rolls are those of ‘infiltrators’, why is the ECI holding special camps to re-enrol the ‘left out’ names?” Chidambaram asked.
He said protests by the Congress, INDIA bloc parties and youth and student groups had prompted state Chief Electoral Officers to speak out, raise questions with the Election Commission and organise special camps for voters whose names were left out.
Chidambaram also referred to the reported concerns raised by two Election Commissioners, describing them as evidence of “dissent within” the poll body.
He alleged that the SIR process had caused “grave injustice” to genuine citizens and accused the BJP of attempting to defend what he described as indefensible decisions.
The exchange comes amid an intensifying political confrontation between the ruling BJP and Opposition parties over the SIR exercise, voter deletions and allegations concerning the electoral process.
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