'How is BJP democratically elected?' Congress calls it 'stolen election' after 27 lakh voters deleted

KOLKATA: Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the BJP over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise has resulted in the deletion of over 27 lakh voters and undermined the democratic process.Addressing a press conference, Venugopal claimed the electoral exercise had stripped millions of their voting rights."How can you call this government a democratically elected government? More than 27 lakh voters have been deleted from the voters' list. This is a stolen election, not a democratic mandate," he said.'Agencies being weaponised against opposition'Venugopal also alleged that central investigative agencies are selectively used against opposition leaders."We have seen that whenever corrupt people join the BJP, the charges against them disappear. This is the same tactic. That is why I have said agencies like the CBI, ED and the Income Tax Department are being weaponised to target Opposition parties," he said.He further alleged that authoritarian politics ultimately fails, adding that India was "waiting for that moment.""Wherever democracy is in danger, Congress will stand there to protect it. The BJP is trying to hijack the country's constitutional institutions. We will unite to protect them and uphold the Constitution," he said further.Questions BJP-RSS over Ram Temple donationsVenugopal also questioned the BJP's silence over allegations of misuse of donations received by the Ayodhya Ram Temple."For years, the BJP-RSS politics revolved around polarisation and the Ram Mandir. But today, when allegations regarding misuse of temple donations have surfaced, why are they silent? If they claim to speak for Hinduism, they must answer these questions. The BJP should come clean on the Ayodhya temple trust," he said.Get the latest India news and live updates. Download the TOI App.