Nadda Accuses Opposition of Spreading Confusion Over Election Commission and EVMs

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda on Tuesday accused the Opposition of attempting to create confusion by repeatedly questioning the Election Commission and blaming electronic voting machines (EVMs). The former BJP national president was in Bareilly to participate in the 'Loktantra Bachao, Arajakta Hatao' march. Attacking the opposition, Nadda said whenever they lose an election, they blame the Election Commission and label it dishonest. "The opposition's only function is to spread confusion. They consistently raise questions about the Election Commission and, after losing elections, blame their defeat on EVMs," he said. Nadda said that by raising the issue of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Rahul Gandhi has stirred up a hornet's nest. Claiming that the Congress has set a record in 'vote chori', he said the party used to win elections by getting Bangladeshi nationals registered as voters, and as these names are being removed from the electoral rolls now, it is raising an outcry. "Infiltrators will not run the country; they (Congress) should understand this. The public is admonishing the Congress. Those who mislead people should be given a befitting reply," he said. Nadda accused the opposition in general and the Congress in particular of misleading the masses on the SIR issue. "Of the 96 crore votes, the opposition alleges that 13 crore were deleted (by the Election Commission). But what are those votes that were deleted?" he asked, explaining that they were the names of absent, shifted, dead voters and dual entries that figured in more than one place. He further accused the Congress of adopting double standards on democracy.