Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh) [India], October 11 (ANI): Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Sunday urged all political parties to support the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, describing it as a process that helps ensure clarity in voter lists and strengthens democracy.
Speaking at the Chief Minister’s bungalow in Itanagar, CM Khandu said the exercise had also been conducted during the previous Congress government and had received appreciation in Arunachal Pradesh, where the electorate is around 6.90 lakh.
“We don’t have anything to say about the SIR because it has already happened in Arunachal Pradesh too. Everyone here has appreciated it. The SIR has brought a lot of clarity because, as you can see, in a democracy, the vote is our biggest weapon. If you distort that vote bank itself, democracy doesn’t work properly,” Khandu said.
He said the exercise was not exclusive to the present government and had also taken place under the previous Congress government.
“The SIR is not from the current government, but from the previous Congress government. There was an SIR before too. When an SIR happens, the cleansing of the voter list is a very good thing for democracy. All the political parties should support this,” he said.
Separately, the Arunachal Pradesh Cabinet passed a special resolution to mark Prime Minister Narendra Modi completing 25 years in public service, from his tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister to his service as Prime Minister.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju and state BJP leaders launched the ‘Seva Jyoti Yatra’ and ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Sabha’ in Itanagar to mark the occasion.
Celebrations and lamp-lighting events were also held at district headquarters across Arunachal Pradesh, with ministers, MLAs and Zilla Parishad chairpersons participating.
Khandu credited Modi’s leadership and vision with bringing transformation and infrastructure development to Arunachal Pradesh and the Northeast region. (ANI)
Arunachal CM Pema Khandu urges political parties to support SIR, calls it ‘Good thing for Democracy’
