India, Sept. 27 -- The BJP and the Opposition sparred over the Election Commission's statement on the ongoing controversy during the SIR exercise. The ruling BJP and its NDA partner TDP seized the EC's statement, turning an institutional row into a blunt political attack.

The ruling BJP on Saturday said that the ECI statement on the SIR row has "clearly established" that the decision to conduct a SIR of electoral rolls was taken with the full consensus of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the two election commissioners. Soon after the EC's statement, the Congress hit back, claiming they're in "damage control mode" and adding that the EC didn't deny the media report claims and gave a "wishy-washy" statement which "avoids answering the questions regar...