Sarma defends poll roll updates, blames infiltration for demography change

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma defended electoral roll updates, attributing them to infiltration. He challenged Rahul Gandhi to make Congress-led state govts resign over the CEC and dared the party to boycott elections, calling protests 'manufactured'.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday countered the opposition's claims, defended the electoral roll updates, and fired a scathing volley at Congress over the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

Sarma Defends Electoral Roll Updates, Cites Infiltration

Sarma, while addressing the media, defended the necessity of the SIR process, attributing it to decades of demographic changes driven by cross-border infiltration. Citing historical parliamentary admissions, Sarma emphasised, "Why does the country need an SIR today? When Indrajit Gupta was Home Minister, he himself stated in Parliament that the names of 30 lakh foreign nationals were included in the Assam voter list. The demographic changes seen today in Assam, Bengal, Jharkhand, and Bihar clearly demonstrate that infiltration from Bangladesh into our country occurs daily."

Dismissing allegations of voter suppression or coercion, Sarma highlighted recent election victories in minority-dominated regions. “Today, Mamata Banerjee lacks the courage to stage street protests in Bengal, yet she has rushed to Delhi... Even now, having won elections in Nagaon in Assam, has anyone claimed the BJP won by mistake? People are actually celebrating the victory. If votes had been stolen, there would have been an uproar; people would have protested and taken to the streets. On the contrary, even in constituencies dominated by religious minorities, people are celebrating the BJP's victory,” said the Assam CM.

CM's Multi-State Challenge to Rahul Gandhi

Addressing Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, the Assam CM threw down an explicit, multi-state challenge, "Today, I want to challenge Rahul Gandhi: first, address the situation regarding the governments formed during Gyanesh Kumar's tenure (in your states), and ask all of them to resign. Ask the governments in Kerala, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Telangana to resign, and ask your alliance government in Tamil Nadu to resign as well. And announce that if Gyanesh Kumar remains the CEC, you will not contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh election."

He further dared the Congress to boycott upcoming state elections across the country and refuse victory if they mistrust the election chief. “Announce that if Gyanesh Kumar stays, you won't contest the Punjab election. Announce that if he stays, you won't contest in Goa, Manipur, or Uttarakhand. And even if, by some chance, you happen to win an election in any of these five states, declare that you won't accept the seat, simply because Gyanesh Kumar is the CEC,” said Sarma.

'Manufactured Conspiracy': Sarma Blames Foreign Powers, 'Dimagi Naxals'

Terming the opposition’s movement an artificial, manufactured protest, Sarma accused Congress of attacking democratic institutions, "Rahul Gandhi and the entire Congress party are currently acting at the behest of foreign powers. They dislike the country's Supreme Court, the Election Commission, and the Parliament; they even dislike the nation's youth."

Sarma dismisses ongoing anti-government protests not as genuine public grievances, but as a "manufactured" conspiracy. He claimed that foreign powers and domestic critics, whom he disparagingly labelled as "Dimagi Naxals", are trying to unseat a democratically elected government through backdoor pressure rather than popular vote. He noted that the Congress party has been out of power in major states like Tamil Nadu (70 years), West Bengal (50 years), and Uttar Pradesh (37 years). By asking “Were Gyanesh Kumar or PM Modi present during all that time?”, he argued that Congress’s decline is a long-standing trend rooted in public rejection, long before the current administration or Election Commission leadership took charge. He said, "This is an attempt to inflict a regime change in India without popular support. This entire movement is supported by foreign powers who don't want India to grow. So this movement is the result of frustrated people, 'Dimagi Naxals', and those who do not want India to grow. Today, Rahul Gandhi is intent on destroying every democratic institution in our country... The trend of the Congress party facing rejection is nothing new. It has been 70 years, and the Congress party has never come to power in Tamil Nadu. It has been 50 years, and the Congress party hasn't even come close to power in West Bengal. It has been 42 years in Sikkim, and 37 years since the Congress was last in power in Uttar Pradesh. It has been nearly 37 years in Bihar, nearly 33 years in Tripura, 31 years in Gujarat, 26 years in Odisha, and 23 years in Nagaland. Were Gyanesh Kumar or PM Modi present during all that time?..."

Mocking the ground support and the scale of the opposition's national mobilisation, Sarma said, "...Today, the Congress doesn't even have enough people to stage a protest in Delhi. They had to hire and bring people in from Assam, gathering them from all over the country..." (ANI)

EVM vs Ballot Paper: Sarma Dares Opposition

In response to opposition demands to scrap Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in favour of traditional paper ballots, Sarma issues a high-stakes political challenge. He told Rahul Gandhi to have Congress surrender power in the states it currently governs (such as Kerala) and trigger fresh elections using ballot papers in Assam. He even offered to resign and contest an election in Assam using ballot papers, daring the opposition to put their money where their mouth is regarding voting mechanisms and popular mandate.

Sarma added, "I am ready if Rahul Gandhi gives up the Congress government in Kerala, I am prepared to contest an election in Assam using ballot papers!" Let the Congress have their two states resign, and we will hold fresh elections in Assam using ballot papers! Just say the word, have your two states resign, and we will hold elections for all seats using ballot papers. Make the proposal; I want to set a standard where I resign as an MP and then launch a movement..."

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