New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has questioned the outcome of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, claiming that nearly 10 crore people underwent the exercise across six states but only 1,600 foreign nationals were identified and removed from voter lists.
Ramesh accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of misleading the public about the purpose of the exercise and alleged that SIR was being used to deprive large numbers of Indian citizens of their right to vote.
In a post on X on Thursday, Ramesh referred to Shah’s description of SIR as a process aimed at detecting, deleting and deporting infiltrators to “purify” electoral rolls.
“The Home Minister had said that SIR had a 3D objective: to detect, delete and deport infiltrators so as to ‘purify’ the electoral rolls,” Ramesh wrote.
He claimed that Karnataka, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Kerala, Goa and Mizoram had together identified and deleted the names of around 1,600 foreign nationals after nearly 10 crore people underwent the revision.
“Nearly 10 crore people went through the SIR in these states – to find 1600 ‘foreigners’,” he said.
Ramesh also claimed that data from the other 20 states and Union Territories was unavailable because the Election Commission of India (ECI) had not asked for such information to be collected.
“Clearly the Home Minister was lying,” he alleged.
Congress Questions Voter Deletions During SIR
Citing Karnataka, Ramesh said 99.7 lakh names had been deleted from the state’s electoral rolls, while 716 foreign nationals were identified. Of those, he claimed, 545 were from Nepal.
He argued that these figures raised questions about the purpose of the exercise and alleged that SIR was intended to remove large numbers of Indian voters from electoral rolls.
“This only proves what has been evident all along: that SIR was always intended for ensuring that very large sections of Indians have their constitutional right to vote snatched away,” he said.
Ramesh also accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of being involved in what he described as a conspiracy.
“SIR was a conspiracy designed by the PM-HM duo and executed by the CEC through various means including ECINET,” he alleged.
He reiterated the Opposition’s demands for Kumar’s removal, suspension of the SIR exercise and a revamp of ECINET, the Election Commission’s digital platform.
“Gyanesh Kumar has to go. SIR has to be suspended. ECINET has to be revamped,” Ramesh wrote.
INDIA Bloc Plans Programme Against CEC
The remarks came amid continuing protests by the Opposition INDIA bloc against SIR and allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.
Ramesh announced that the bloc would hold a public programme against Gyanesh Kumar at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s official residence at 10, Rajaji Marg, New Delhi, on Friday, October 30, at 3:30 pm.
He accused the Chief Election Commissioner of violating the Constitution and undermining electoral democracy. Ramesh also alleged that Kumar had misled the Supreme Court.
Earlier, Kharge had called on INDIA bloc leaders to attend the programme at his residence.
The Congress has also planned a ‘Dilli Chalo’ march and a public rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 to protest against SIR and the Election Commission.
Delhi Police has issued a no-objection certificate from the law-and-order perspective for the Ramlila Maidan rally, subject to permission from the land-owning authority and compliance with conditions. These include concluding the gathering by 5 pm and not allowing overnight stays at the venue.
The rally is scheduled to take place from 10 am to 5 pm on November 1.