Bandi Sanjay Targets Congress on Voter Rolls, Defends Centre on Metro Funding

Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar on Tuesday stepped up his criticism of the Congress party over its opposition to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, arguing that efforts to identify and remove ineligible entries from voter lists are essential to maintaining the integrity of the electoral process. Speaking at a "Chai Pe Charcha" interaction with Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs) in Manakondur of Karimnagar district, Sanjay asserted that no authority has the right to remove the names of legitimate Indian citizens from electoral rolls.

He maintained that the revision exercise is intended only to identify unlawful or ineligible entries and questioned why Congress was objecting to the removal of alleged infiltrators from voter lists. The BJP leader also accused the party of creating confusion around the issue and claimed that attempts to link the exercise with the broader Muslim community were misleading and unfair. He urged Congress to clarify its stand and argued that genuine voters have nothing to fear from the verification process.

Turning to the political controversy surrounding the Hyderabad Metro Rail project, Sanjay dismissed allegations made by Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy that Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy was blocking the release of a ₹13,600-crore refinancing package linked to the metro. Rejecting the accusation, he said the Centre's continued support for Telangana through funding and major development initiatives contradicts claims that it is obstructing the state's progress. If the Union government were indeed working against Telangana's interests, he argued, the state would not have received substantial investments and infrastructure projects over the years. His remarks add to the ongoing war of words between the Congress-led state government and the BJP at the Centre over funding and implementation of key development projects.

Sanjay also commented on the debate surrounding Maoist ideology , responding to recent remarks by K. Kavitha , president of Telangana Rakshana Sena (TRS). Describing Maoist ideology as a serious threat to society, he said many former Maoists had eventually joined the democratic mainstream after realizing that violence and armed struggle could not deliver lasting political change. He warned that individuals who continue to adhere to such ideologies risk distancing themselves from democratic institutions and facing serious challenges in the future. Concluding his address, the Union Minister called on citizens to compare the governance record of the NDA government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi with that of the previous UPA administration , saying such a comparison would reveal clear differences in development, governance, and national priorities.