Assam BJP to launch rallies to counter Opposition’s anti-SIR campaign till October 31

The ruling BJP in Assam will launch peaceful rallies at all district headquarters from Tuesday to October 31 to counter the Congress’s movement against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the Opposition party is attempting to undermine democratic institutions and shield illegal infiltrators.

The announcement was made by chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in a media conference at Dispur on Monday evening, and by state BJP president Dilip Saikia at the party headquarters here.

The move comes amid stepped-up Congress protests demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise. Rahul Gandhi marched to the Supreme Court on Monday, among other demands, seeking the CEC’s resignation.

Sarma described the anti-SIR movement as “an attempt to inflict a regime change in India without popular support”.

In a post on X, he accused Rahul and the Congress of attacking the foundations of Indian democracy, alleging that they questioned electoral outcomes when the BJP won but accepted them when the Congress emerged victorious.

“Democracy, for the Congress, is valid only when it delivers victory for the Congress,” Sarma said.

At the news conference, he alleged that foreign powers were backing the protests against the SIR and the CEC. “The movement is a result of frustrated people, Dimagi Naxal and those who do not want India to grow,” he said.

Sarma cited the government’s action against Naxalism, peace in the Northeast and military strikes inside Pakistan as achievements that had frustrated the protesters.

He challenged Rahul to resign in states where the Congress or its allies are in power, including Kerala, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu, if he believed the electoral process under the CEC was compromised.

Commenting on Rahul’s march to the Supreme Court, Sarma, in his X post, alleged that the Congress leader was attempting to exert political pressure on the judiciary after the Chief Justice of India declined a meeting.

“Constitutional institutions cannot be made answerable to a party’s electoral frustrations,” he said in the post.

Sarma said: “At the same time through this programme (rallies), we will reaffirm our unwavering support for Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji and his vision of a Viksit Bharat by 2047. The people’s mandate deserves respect. Our institutions deserve independence. Neither can be held hostage to political convenience.”