Nitin Nabin chairs key BJP meet to discuss response to Opposition’s anti-SIR campaign

A meeting of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) brass led by party president Nitin Nabin was held on Sunday at the party headquarters in Delhi to discuss the social media strategy and outreach on issues related to the upcoming assembly polls and the party’s counter to the Congress’s campaign against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Union home minister Amit Shah and national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh were in attendance at the key meeting where the party discussed the response to the opposition’s November 1 rally against SIR, people aware of the details said.

“Starting October 22, the party has already initiated the Rashtra Chintan Samvaad across India to counter the INDI bloc’s fake narrative against constitutional bodies such as the election commission,” said a party functionary.

The Samvaad, being overseen by senior ministers Piyush Goyal and Kiren Rijiju, and senior party leaders Sunil Bansal and Smriti Irani, is an outreach programme aimed at dispelling concerns about the SIR.

“There are teams that will hold discussions with students, professionals and even home makers to lay bare the realities of why the SIR is needed and how the Congress wants illegal immigrants to be included as voters,” the functionary said.

Since the opposition is aiming to make SIR a major poll plank in the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Goa and Uttarakhand, the BJP is redoubling efforts to counter the concerns about the electoral exercise.

“We will also disseminate information about the details of how SIR has been conducted over the years. And what has been the outcome of recent elections in states where SIR was conducted. It is important for people to know that the Congress is leading the other parties to question and discredit the Supreme Court, the Election Commission and several other institutions to mask their own defeat,” said the functionary quoted above.