Ranchi, Nov 24: Union Minister of State for Defence and Ranchi MP Sanjay Seth on Monday strongly reacted to Jharkhand Health Minister Irfan Ansari’s statement on Special Intensive Revision (SIR), triggering a fresh political storm in the state.
Seth termed the remark as having an “anti-national mindset” and demanded that Chief Minister Hemant Soren should immediately remove Ansari from the cabinet.
Seth said that the Health Minister’s statement encourages infiltrators and has created serious security concerns for Booth Level Officers (BLOs). He stated that BLOs function under constitutional procedures and carry out SIR work as per the directions of the Election Commission, a process that has been followed by successive governments over the years.
According to him, statements about tying up BLOs at home amount to a direct attack on India’s democratic framework.
The Union Minister accused Ansari of misusing a government platform to instigate the public against the administrative system, which he said violates the dignity of his office and oath.
Seth also questioned why Congress and other opposition parties are afraid of the SIR exercise. He alleged that the opposition wants to depend on infiltrators for political support and said that the people of the country are now aware and will not be misled by such statements.
Earlier on Sunday, Ansari had asked people not to cooperate with BLOs visiting their homes. He said that if BLOs come to homes in the name of SIR, they should be tied up, a remark that attracted sharp criticism and raised concerns over law and order.
As per Ansari’s statement, talking to BLOs could lead to the removal of their names from the voter list. He had also claimed that he would not allow the SIR exercise to be implemented in Jharkhand under any circumstances, and insisted that no one’s name would be deleted from the voter rolls.
