New Delhi [India], November 14 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that Bihar election has strengthened people's trust in the Election Commission as he backed the exercise of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted in different states of the country by the Election Commission, stating that the youth of Bihar have "overwhelmingly supported voter list purification".
Addressing the victory celebrations at the BJP headquarters here with the ruling National Democratic Alliance heading for a landslide sweep in Bihar, PM Modi said people of the state have voted without fear, with enthusiasm and excitement.
He took a dig at the Rashtriya Janata Dal, and said this is the same Bihar that was once dominated by Maoist terror and voting used to end at 3 pm in the Naxal-affected areas. He said elections were also marked by violence.
"This election has further strengthened the public trust in the Election Commission of India. The consistently high voter turnout over the past few years, the increased turnout by the deprived and the exploited, is a significant achievement for the Election Commission. This is the same Bihar that was once dominated by Maoist terror. Voting used to end at 3 pm in Naxal-affected areas. But in this election, people in Bihar have voted without fear, with enthusiasm and excitement," PM Modi said.
"You also know what used to happen in Bihar during the times of jungle raj. Violence used to occur openly at polling stations. Ballot boxes were looted. Today, the same Bihar is seeing record voter turnout. It is voting peacefully. Everyone's vote has been recorded. Everyone has cast their vote as per their choice," he added.
He also said that polls in Bihar were marked by repolling earlier, but the situation improved after the end of "jungle raj".
"Earlier, there was no election in Bihar where repolling did not take place. For instance, before 2005, repolling happened at hundreds of places. In 1995, repolling took place at more than 1500 polling stations. But as the jungle raj ended, the situation started improving, and in both phases of this election, there was no need for repolling anywhere. This time, the voting was peaceful," he said.
He urged people to participate enthusiastically in the SIR exercise.
"Today, I congratulate the Election Commission, our security forces, and the conscious voters of Bihar. The country is proud of all of you. The Bihar elections have proven another thing. Now, the country's voters, especially our young voters, take voter list purification very seriously. The youth of Bihar have also overwhelmingly supported voter list purification. And I believe that for the sanctity of democracy, every voter has their importance and rights," he said.
The Prime Minister said it is the responsibility of every party to activate their units at the polling booths and enthusiastically participate in the voter list purification work. "Contribute 100%, so that voter lists can be fully purified in other places as well," he added.
Opposition parties in Bihar had expressed strong reservations over the way the SIR exercise was conducted in Bihar. The state recorded a historic 67.13 per cent voter turnout, the highest since 1951, with women voters outnumbering men in terms of vote percentage. The polling percentage for women was 71.6 per cent, and for men, 62.8 per cent.
PM Modi stated that the government is striving to include Chhath in the UNESCO Heritage List. The goal is to connect the entire country and the world with this culture through its significance..
He said last year, the people of the country gave their mandate to the NDA for the third consecutive time and the BJP and its allies have been winning successive assembly polls.
"This was the result of the nation's trust and the blessings of the countrymen. And after the Lok Sabha elections, we also won assembly elections in many states with a resounding majority. Haryana, the land that promoted the spirit of Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan, gave us the opportunity to serve for the third consecutive time. We won a resounding victory in Maharashtra, the holy land of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Babasaheb Ambedkar, and Veer Savarkar," he said.
"Maharashtra made us victorious for the third consecutive time. We won with a majority in the national capital after 25 years. And today, in Bihar, where such a large population lives in rural areas, we have won with such overwhelming numbers," he added.