Cong vows CBI probe into SIR in Bihar once 'govt changes at Centre'

Patna, Oct 1 (PTI) A day after the publication of the final electoral roll in Bihar, the Congress on Wednesday cast doubts over the special intensive revision (SIR) of voters' list and vowed a CBI inquiry upon "a change of guard at the Centre".

In a strongly worded statement, Congress national spokesman Abhay Dubey also accused the Election Commission and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "lying" about "infiltrators" having found their way into the voters' list.

"Why has not a single infiltrator been identified? Should we conclude that the EC and the PM had been lying to the people of the country?", Dubey asked.

The manner in which SIR was undertaken continues to raise suspicions, he claimed.

The Congress leader alleged, "It has been a conspiracy to steal votes, which will be exposed with a CBI inquiry once there is a change of guard at the Centre." Dubey criticised the Election Commission for not disclosing "whether more female voters than males have ended up having their names in the voters' list".

He also sought to know if "death certificates or some other official documents" were perused by the EC officials in case of more than 22 lakh people, or "were their names deleted on the basis of hearsay?".

Besides, the Congress leader demanded a break-up of 21.53 lakh electors added during the claims and objections phase.

"The EC should specify how many people have registered as voters for the first time and the names of how many electors were restored after flagging of wrongful deletion," Dubey said.

"The EC, which insists that SIR will be carried out across the country, must provide these details related to Bihar," he added. PTI NAC BDC