New Delhi, July 5 (IANS) Senior Congress leader Raj Babbar on Saturday said that the organisational restructuring now taking place in the party should have been initiated much earlier.

Speaking to IANS on the ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’ (Organisational Building) from Lucknow, Raj Babbar lauded the recent collective efforts of the party leadership and said it will enhance credibility and encourage accountability among Congress workers.

“What is happening today in the Congress should have started long ago. This time, the leadership has worked in unison, especially from Delhi, and that will build credibility and a sense of responsibility across the organisation,” he said.

Taking aim at the government over electoral discrepancies, Babbar raised concerns about irregularities in voter turnout figures during recent elections.

“In past elections, more votes were cast than the number of voters listed. The government has never given a clear answer to such serious questions. It is important that these issues are raised, and the Opposition is playing its role. The government must conduct elections with full credibility,” he said.

On the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections, the Congress veteran stressed that it is the government’s duty to ensure free and fair polls. “Conducting impartial elections is the responsibility of the ruling government,” he said.

Responding to the recent language row in Maharashtra, Babbar said, “Maharashtra is a very significant part of India. People there are proud of their language and culture and have always stood up for their linguistic identity. It is the government’s job to handle such issues with maturity, not provoke them.”

On the issue of communal tensions during the Kanwar Yatra, Babbar accused the government of deliberately allowing tensions to escalate. “Every year, incidents take place during the Kanwar Yatra. Instead of preventing them in advance, the government waits for the Yatra to begin and lets these incidents happen. This is done knowingly to provoke religious sentiments,” he alleged.

–IANS

sas/rad