Rohtak: BJP, Cong workers face off over SIR exercise

Addressing the gathering, BJP state vice-president Satish Nandal accused the Congress of spreading misinformation regarding the SIR process

Workers of the ruling BJP and the opposition Congress had a verbal clash outside the residence of Congress MLA Bharat Bhushan Batra in Rohtak on Saturday. A protest led by former minister Manish Grover over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls escalated into a high-voltage show of political strength.

Grover, accompanied by BJP councillors and aides, reached Batra’s residence to hold a demonstration. (HT)

Grover, accompanied by BJP councillors and aides, reached Batra’s residence to hold a demonstration. Batra and his supporters mounted a counter-protest, waving black flags and raising slogans amid a heavy police presence.

Addressing the gathering, BJP state vice-president Satish Nandal accused the Congress of spreading misinformation regarding the SIR process. “We have come to ask Batra how he became an MLA if votes were stolen,” Nandal said. “The SIR exercise was conducted seven times during Congress rule. The current process is merely the eighth instance,” he said.

Nandal further alleged that opposition parties were trying to incite instability across the state and country, claiming the INDIA bloc aimed to foster unrest similar to recent political turmoil in France, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Batra, meanwhile, questioned the BJP leaders’ authority to seek explanations from him over grants and development-related issues. The Congress legislator also challenged BJP mayor Ramavatar Valmiki to explain the development work undertaken in Rohtak.