BASOHLI, OCT 29: Jammu and Kashmir BJP General Secretary Baldev Singh Billawaria on Thursday accused the Congress and its allies of spreading a misleading narrative over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that their campaign was aimed at creating confusion and undermining public confidence in the electoral process. He announced that the BJP would take its position directly to the people through a padyatra in Kathua on October 31 to counter the Congress’s allegations of “vote chori”.
Billawaria, who is also the in-charge of the proposed padyatra, was addressing an organisational meeting at Mahanpur in Basohli, convened to review party activities and finalise arrangements for the upcoming programme. The meeting was attended by Kathua District President Gopal Krishna, MLAs Darshan Singh and Satish Sharma, DDC member Narayan Dutt Tripathi, Vikram Singh and Mandal President Narita Devi, besides other party functionaries.
Emphasising the importance of maintaining accurate and credible electoral rolls, Billawaria said the revision of voter lists was an established administrative exercise and was not a new practice. He maintained that electoral rolls required periodic updating to account for deaths, migration, duplicate entries and other changes, ensuring that the records reflected eligible voters accurately.
Questioning the Congress’s allegations of widespread electoral irregularities, Billawaria said changes in electoral rolls should not automatically be portrayed as evidence of electoral fraud, as names could be removed or corrected for legitimate reasons during the verification process. He accused the opposition of creating unnecessary suspicion about democratic institutions instead of acknowledging the importance of maintaining accurate voter records.
Billawaria stressed that the credibility of India’s democratic system depended on protecting the voting rights of every eligible citizen while preventing duplication and the misuse of electoral provisions. He said electoral processes must remain transparent, fair and consistent with established rules, ensuring that genuine voters were not deprived of their democratic rights.
Announcing the BJP’s proposed outreach programme, Billawaria said the October 31 padyatra in Kathua would provide the party an opportunity to present its position on the SIR exercise directly to the public and counter what it described as the Congress’s misleading campaign. He called upon party leaders and workers to actively participate in the programme and communicate the party’s arguments effectively among the people.
Kathua District President Gopal Krishna said BJP workers across the district would work collectively to ensure the successful organisation of the padyatra. He emphasised the need to strengthen public awareness about electoral roll revision and mobilise party cadres for the proposed programme.
The organisational meeting was attended by district and mandal office-bearers, MLAs, DDC and BDC members, sarpanches and presidents of various party morchas, reflecting the BJP’s efforts to coordinate its organisational machinery ahead of the planned public outreach.
BJP J&K Seh-Prabhari Reena Kashyap and other senior party leaders are also expected to participate in the Kathua padyatra.
The proposed march comes amid a political dispute over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, with the BJP defending the need for accurate voter lists and accusing the Congress of raising misleading allegations, while the opposition has raised concerns over the electoral process. The October 31 programme is expected to serve as a platform for the BJP to present its arguments and mobilise public support around the issue of electoral transparency and the protection of eligible voters’ rights.
