The Indian National Congress launched a sharp attack on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling the exercise a blatant assault on the Constitution and alleging that it amounts to a coordinated effort to remove legitimate voters from the polling lists. Speaking at a press conference in New Delhi, senior party leaders presented data collected from various states to substantiate their claims.
The SIR is a periodic exercise mandated by the Election Commission of India to update and revise electoral rolls across the country. While the Commission describes it as a routine accuracy drive, the Congress has characterized it differently — arguing that the revision process is being weaponized to strip thousands of entitled voters, particularly from marginalized communities, of their right to vote.
The party referred to the exercise as a "massive Shah-instigated removal of voters," implying that the drive is being orchestrated from the highest levels of the central home ministry. Rajnath Singh, who oversees the Election Commission administratively, and his senior bureaucratic apparatus have come under fire for what Congress calls a politically motivated exercise.
According to the data presented by Congress, a significant number of voter names have been deleted or struck off during the SIR in several states without adequate verification or public notice. The party alleged that manydeleted entries belonged to daily wage labourers, migrant workers, and residents of informal settlements who often lack the documentary proof demanded by revising authorities. Critics say such demands disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised.
Congress leaders warned that large-scale deletions, if not checked, could undermine the very foundation of free and fair elections guaranteed by the Constitution. They called on the Election Commission to pause the exercise, publish comprehensive data on deletions state-wise, and allow affected citizens a meaningful opportunity to appeal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and allied voices have defended the SIR as a necessary exercise to weede out fake and duplicate entries, arguing that clean electoral rolls are essential for transparent democracy. However, the Congress has rejected this justification, saying the scale and speed of deletions go far beyond routine housekeeping.
Political observers note that any perceived manipulation of voter lists carries enormous implications ahead of upcoming state and national polls, making this dispute a flashpoint in the broader debate over electoral fairness in India.
