Dehradun, Nov. 26 -- The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress on Tuesday engaged in a verbal spat over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in the state. While the BJP extended support to the exercise and affirmed cooperation with the election commission, the Congress remained sceptical of the SIR being used as a tool for BJP's victory in polls. The BJP said SIR will serve as the final nail in the coffin for attempts to alter the state's demography. State BJP president and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt said: "A thorough revision of the voter list under the SIR is necessary so that the names of all eligible voters in the state are included in it, and fake names are excluded. So that the people of Uttarakhand can play a role in forming a popular government in the upcoming elections. It will also help in efforts to maintain demographic balance in the state." "Those who intend to disturb the state's sacred character and disrupt the peaceful atmosphere are the ones opposing the SIR," he said, while attacking the Congress. Bhatt further questioned the Congress for opposing SIR. Why does the opposition believe that all the fake names that have been or will be removed from the voter list are their supporters? He said that SIR is a constitutional process and the process has been completed eight times in the country since independence until 2004, but no objections were then raised by political parties. "It is extremely unfortunate that due to appeasement politics, confusion is being spread about the legal process. The Election Commission has clarified that only those voters who have died, have moved to other states, or do not meet the voter criteria will be removed under this revision. They are given a full opportunity to raise objections. Therefore, the opposition's objections about the process are not justified," he said. Bhatt said that the Opposition's claim that under SIR in Bihar, only their supporters' votes were removed is completely ridiculous and a blatant lie. "This means that their (Opposition) leaders know who the fake voters are and will be caught if an SIR is conducted," he said. Bhatt alleged that Congress party wants to protect its fake vote bank for the sake of appeasement. "That is why it is spreading lies and confusion among voters, especially minorities," he said. In response to Bhatt's attack, the Congress said SIR is a constitutional process for revision of electoral rolls, but it shouldn't become just a tool to ensure the BJP's victory in elections. Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Ganesh Godiyal said: "BJP and Election Commission together should not turn the SIR process into a tool to ensure BJP's victory in the elections. The SIR must remain neutral and transparent. Its constitutional purpose is to ensure a fair and accurate voter list, and it should function strictly on that basis." "Bringing the issue of demographic change into every discussion shows that the BJP wants to polarise votes to win elections. It reflects their lack of confidence in their own development work. After being in power for nine years, if they are still crying about such issues, it is a result of their failures. I request the people in power in Uttarakhand to ensure that no demographic manipulation takes place," he added....