The Indian National Congress has formally demanded an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of voter lists, citing significant discrepancies observed during the recent Legislative Council elections in Uttar Pradesh. Party leadership has called for a comprehensive and impartial investigation into the state of voter rolls nationwide, arguing that the integrity of the democratic process is currently being compromised by technical failures and administrative negligence.
Addressing the media on Saturday, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, asserted that the Election Commission (EC) cannot deflect responsibility for these errors by blaming software. He characterized the current situation as a premeditated conspiracy intended to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). According to the Congress, the reliance on automated systems for maintaining electoral data has placed the fundamental rights of voters at the mercy of opaque, machine-run processes.
The opposition party has escalated its stance by demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Congress alleges that the BJP, in coordination with the Election Commission, has compromised the fairness of past electoral exercises, including the 2024 general elections and various assembly polls. Ramesh stated that the party is seeking full transparency, demanding that the Election Commission release complete, machine-readable data to allow for public and independent auditing of the voter lists.
Highlighting specific irregularities in Uttar Pradesh, the Congress cited instances of nonsensical entries appearing in the voter lists, such as names listed as "Ram Ne Yadav Ko Mara," "Murkh Chandra Yadav," and "B. Com." The party argued that if such visible errors occurred in the Legislative Council elections, it raises serious doubts about the accuracy of lists used in other major electoral contests across the country. The Congress further alleged that names have gone missing from updated rolls, effectively disenfranchising citizens.
Ramesh also pointed to an earlier incident in Pilibhit, where he claimed that the details of 10,470 voters were altered via Form 8 without supporting documentation. He alleged that these changes disproportionately affected a specific community. The party maintains that these patterns are not coincidental but are part of a broader effort to deprive specific sections of the population of their voting rights. Congress leaders have previously expressed these concerns through formal petitions to the President of India and the Chief Justice of India.
The Congress contends that the SIR process, which was ostensibly designed to purify and update voter rolls, has instead cast significant doubt on the reliability of the entire electoral system. With assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh approaching in the coming months, the party stressed that the current lack of transparency regarding how names are added or removed is unacceptable. They have demanded to know whether established rules for mandatory notices and hearings were followed during the revision exercise.
Concluding the party's position, Ramesh reaffirmed the Congress's commitment to protecting the rights of every eligible citizen. He argued that until the Election Commission provides machine-readable data—a demand previously voiced by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi—the true extent of these irregularities will remain hidden. The party remains adamant that the current leadership of the Election Commission must be held accountable for what they describe as an unconstitutional approach to managing the nation's electoral infrastructure.
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