In an effort to counter anti-incumbency, the party is considering withholding tickets from several sitting MLAs along with a minister whose performance in the previous term was rated poorly.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi submits voter verification form, calling out opposition for "political pollution" and highlighting threats of white-collar terrorism (Photo: File)
NEW DELHI: Former Union Cabinet Minister and senior BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Saturday launched a sharp attack on opposition parties, accusing them of spreading "deception and hypocrisy" over the Summary Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Speaking to reporters after submitting his voter verification form to the Booth Level Officer (BLO), Naqvi said certain political leaders were "behaving like students who want to pass exams without studying" and seeking "promotion without potential".
Those questioning the SIR process, he said, were attempting to blame the system for their repeated political failures.
"These loudmouths are eligible only for a 'BD'—Bachelor of Defeat—degree," Naqvi remarked, adding that such "desperate dynasts" were staging a "destructive drama to defame democracy". Their conduct, he said, was akin to the proverb 'Naach ua jaane aangan tedha,' blaming the surroundings for their own shortcomings.
Referring to the Bihar elections, Naqvi said attempts by some parties to create a narrative of "vote theft" and "foreign models" has collapsed, extending their "no-entry zone" in government. He accused them of conspiring to turn democracy into "a hostage of dynasty".
Naqvi reiterated that the SIR exercise was a routine Constitutional and democratic process aimed at protecting valid voters and removing invalid entries. Despite their earlier claims being disproved in Bihar, some parties were "continuing their failed experiment of spreading political pollution", he said.
He said misleading and intimidating the public through communal narratives around a legitimate electoral exercise amounted to "criminal anarchy".
Shifting focus to security concerns in universities while referring to Al Falah university, Naqvi said it was unfair to malign all educational institutions over isolated incidents involving radicalisation. However, he warned that the "nexus between technology and terrorism" posed a rising threat on campuses, and urged institutions to remain vigilant.
"The sinister syndicate of white-collar terror tycoons is a new and violent threat to peace and harmony," he said, adding that shielding such activities with communal narratives was dangerous for any society.
Naqvi expressed alarm over recent incidents of extremist activity reported in some institutions, saying that attempts to turn "establishments of enlightenment" into "territories of terrorism" would not be allowed to succeed. Eliminating those who misuse modern technology for terror, he said, was essential for national and global security.
Launching a direct attack on Pakistan, the BJP leader said the neighbouring country had turned terrorism into its "national industry" and had become a "safe haven for extremist groups". The "Made in Islamabad tormentors of terrorism," he added, were a "tragedy for Islamabad itself".
"Terrorism is not the problem of one country or one religion but of all humanity," Naqvi said, calling for global unity and the end of double standards in counter terror efforts.
