BJP's Bidhuri backs Delhi SIR drive, party slams AAP MLA over fire station row
Synopsis
BJP's Ramesh Bidhuri pledged party support for Delhi's Special Intensive Revision of voter rolls at a CEO-convened meeting — while the party simultaneously fired back at an AAP MLA for what it called factually false claims about fire brigade response times at a New Ashok Nagar Police Station blaze. Two separate political skirmishes, one common thread: Delhi's BJP on the offensive.
Key Takeaways
Former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri attended a Delhi CEO-convened meeting on 19 May to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Bidhuri assured that BJP-appointed Block Level Agents will fully support the election office in the SIR exercise.
BJP stated it wants bogus, deceased, and infiltrator names removed from Delhi's voters' list.
Delhi BJP rebutted AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar's claims about the fire at New Ashok Nagar Police Station , saying tenders arrived within four minutes at 1.25 pm and controlled the fire by 1.50 pm .
BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor posted a counter-response on X , disputing the AAP MLA's account of both the fire's location and the brigade's response time.
Former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Ramesh Bidhuri on Tuesday, 19 May attended a multi-party meeting convened by Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar to discuss the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the capital's electoral rolls. Accompanied by advocate Sanket Gupta, Bidhuri pledged full cooperation from BJP-appointed Block Level Agents to support the election office in carrying out the SIR exercise.
BJP's Stand on Electoral Roll Cleansing
Bidhuri stated that the BJP firmly believes all bogus voters, deceased voters, and infiltrators must be removed from the voters' list to guarantee free and fair elections. The SIR process, overseen by the Election Commission of India (ECI), is aimed at ensuring the accuracy and integrity of Delhi's voter database ahead of future polls.
The meeting, convened by CEO Ashok Kumar, brought together representatives of various political parties to coordinate on the revision exercise — a process that involves door-to-door verification and the weeding out of ineligible or duplicate entries.
Delhi BJP Hits Back at AAP Over Fire Station Claims
Separately, the Delhi BJP launched a sharp rebuttal against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Kuldeep Kumar over his social media post and press statement criticising fire department personnel for allegedly arriving late to tackle a blaze at New Ashok Nagar Police Station.
Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, 'The way Delhi AAP leaders accuse the Fire Brigade of arriving late whenever a fire breaks out anywhere in Delhi is an insult to the bravery of fire brigade personnel.' Kapoor further said that through his statement, MLA Kuldeep Kumar 'has made himself a subject of ridicule.'
Factual Dispute Over the Fire Incident
Kapoor posted a counter-response on social media platform X, challenging the AAP MLA's account of the incident. According to Kapoor, MLA Kuldeep Kumar claimed the fire broke out in the malkhana (storeroom) of the police station, whereas, he said, the fire actually occurred in seized vehicles parked beside the station.
On the question of response time, Kapoor stated that the Fire Brigade tenders reached the spot within four minutes of receiving the call — arriving at 1.25 pm — and brought the blaze under control by 1.50 pm. The AAP MLA had claimed the brigade took over an hour to arrive, an assertion the Delhi BJP categorically denied.
BJP Defends Fire Personnel
The Delhi BJP spokesperson emphasised that fire brigade personnel risk their lives daily to protect citizens, and that repeated criticism by AAP leaders serves as a 'big demoralising factor' for the force. This is not the first time the two parties have clashed over the handling of fire incidents in the capital, with such disputes becoming a recurring flashpoint in Delhi's political discourse.
With the SIR process now underway and political temperatures rising over civic governance, both the electoral revision drive and the fire-station controversy are set to keep Delhi's political arena active in the days ahead.
Point of View
With parties accusing each other of engineering deletions for electoral advantage. The fire-brigade dispute, meanwhile, is symptomatic of a broader pattern where civic service failures become proxy battles between the BJP and AAP. What's missing from both narratives is independent verification — neither the ECI's SIR outcomes nor the fire department's official response log have been publicly released, leaving room for each side to shape the story.
NationPress
7 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Delhi?
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an Election Commission of India exercise to update and clean Delhi's voter rolls through door-to-door verification, removing bogus, deceased, or ineligible entries. Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ashok Kumar convened a multi-party meeting on 19 May to coordinate the process.
Why did Ramesh Bidhuri attend the Delhi CEO meeting?
Former BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri attended the meeting to assure the Chief Electoral Officer that BJP-appointed Block Level Agents would provide full support to the election office during the SIR exercise. He also stated the party's position that all bogus and deceased voters and infiltrators should be removed from the rolls.
What did AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar claim about the New Ashok Nagar fire?
AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar alleged in a social media post and press statement that the fire brigade arrived late to tackle a blaze at New Ashok Nagar Police Station, and that the fire broke out in the station's malkhana (storeroom). The Delhi BJP disputed both claims.
How did the Delhi BJP counter the AAP MLA's fire brigade claims?
BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor stated that fire tenders reached the spot within four minutes of the call, arriving at 1.25 pm and controlling the fire by 1.50 pm. He also said the fire was in seized vehicles parked beside the station, not in the malkhana as the AAP MLA claimed. Kapoor posted a counter-response on X.
Why does the BJP-AAP fire brigade dispute matter?
The dispute reflects a recurring pattern of political conflict over Delhi's civic services, where fire incidents become flashpoints between the two parties. The BJP argues that repeated AAP criticism demoralises fire personnel who risk their lives daily, while AAP has used such incidents to question governance accountability.
