Narratives being made to confuse people: Uttarakhand CM Dhami criticises Oppn on SIR row

Dehradun: While defending the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday accused the Opposition of building "narratives" to confuse people.

The Chief Minister made the remarks during a press conference, a day after the ECI issued a press statement following its meeting to quell reports of internal differences and clarifying the context under which a letter was written by ECI functionaries to the Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan.

Without taking any name, Chief Minister Dhami said: "An attempt has been made by the leader of a certain party (Congress), along with its other leaders, to create a certain narrative that has created confusion among people. This is not happening for the first time. Whenever they (Oppposition) create such a narrative, it is always proven false."

The remarks are seemingly aimed at the Congress and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Saying that everyone has the right to raise questions, The Uttarakhand Chief Minister asserted that allegations should be based on facts and records.

Referring to the ECI's press statement, CM Dhami said: "It won't be right to present the 'internal objections' as internal differences within the Election Commission."

Quoting from the ECI's press statement, the Chief Minister mentioned that the ECI has arranged for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to personally visit the homes of voters whose names are 'unmapped' or whose entries contain 'logical discrepancies' to collect the necessary documents.

"These voters will not be summoned to the ECI office for a personal hearing, thereby avoiding any inconvenience to the public."

Chief Minister Dhami also said that a decision has been made to set up help desks and special desks for citizens residing in night shelters, and that this will facilitate the inclusion of homeless and transient individuals in the voter list.

The Uttarakhand CM added that the objective of the SIR process is not to deprive any eligible voter of their rights, "but to make the electoral roll clean and updated".

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