Union Minister JP Nadda on Tuesday, 3 November launched a sharp attack on the Congress and the Samajwadi Party (SP), accusing both of being 'irresponsible' and deliberately undermining public confidence in the Election Commission of India (ECI). Nadda made the remarks while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) 'Save Democracy, Remove Anarchy' rally in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh.

Key Accusations at the Bareilly Rally

'Some irresponsible parties, especially the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, have attempted to break the people's trust in the Election Commission,' Nadda said at the rally. He argued that India's ECI and the Supreme Court have earned global recognition only after years of sustained institutional effort — a legacy he said the Opposition was now seeking to erode for political convenience.

Nadda directly targeted Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, drawing a pointed comparison: 'Whenever he loses polls, he blames the Election Commission while considers himself smart whenever he wins any election.' He likened Gandhi's conduct to 'school kids who blame teachers whenever they score less marks.'

The SIR Controversy and Voter Roll Revision

A significant portion of Nadda's speech addressed the Opposition's claims that 13 crore voters were 'deleted' under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He rejected the charge, stating the voters in question were categorised as ASDD — Absent, Shifted, Duplicated and Dead.

'The Bangladeshi infiltrators got scared of the Election Commission and ran away. So, when the BLOs came for enumeration, it was found that three crore were absent, six crore 30 lakh were shifted, one crore were duplicate voters, and two crore 80 lakh were dead voters. This is what SIR is, which is being opposed,' he stated. Nadda also noted that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had called for detecting, deleting and deporting illegal voters, while accusing the Congress of seeking to 'recognise and formalise such voters.'

Historical Barbs: Emergency, EVMs and the Constitution

Nadda invoked the Emergency era under former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, asserting: 'The number of people sent to jail by Indira Gandhi without any trial for 22 months was even more than those imprisoned under the British rule — and now Rahul Gandhi talks about saving democracy!' He further noted that it was the Congress-led UPA government that had itself shifted from ballot papers to Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), 'and are now themselves blaming the machines.'

Nadda also recalled the Allahabad High Court ruling that had declared Indira Gandhi's election from Rae Bareli as null and void, alleging that in response, 'Mrs Gandhi changed the law and urged for a committed judiciary.' Accusing Congress of mocking the Constitution, he pointed out that late Rajiv Gandhi had described the Planning Commission as a 'bunch of jokers', while Rahul Gandhi had 'torn up an ordinance brought by the Commission during a press conference.'

Swipes at INDIA Bloc and Mamata Banerjee

Turning to the broader Opposition coalition, Nadda described the INDIA bloc's rally as comprising leaders 'who have been ousted from power by the public, those who have been accused of corruption and are out on bail.' He also took a jibe at former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, noting that 'she lost from her own constituency' in the state Assembly elections.

On the INDIA bloc's meeting with President Droupadi Murmu over the SIR process, Nadda said: 'They have still not come up with any proof.' He also credited the BJP-led Centre with implementing the Supreme Court's direction to include the Leader of Opposition in the selection of the Election Commissioner — a reform he said the Congress had never pursued. With assembly elections looming, the BJP's aggressive framing of the EC debate as a sovereignty and democracy issue signals the party's intent to make institutional trust a core electoral battleground.