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New Delhi: As the Election Commission of India gears up to announce the timeline for the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (S.I.R.) of electoral rolls, opposition parties have launched a sharp attack on the poll body for rushing through the decision and called the move politically biased.The S.I.R., aimed at verifying voter details, eliminating duplicate and illegal migrant voters, and updating the rolls, is being described by the ECI as a 'clean-up drive' aligned with its objective - no eligible voter left out, no ineligible person included. However, opposition parties have often called S.I.R. 'Silent Invisible Rigging' (A term coined by the INDI bloc member Congress) exercise ahead of key Assembly polls in 2026.The Congress has been at the forefront of opposition to raise a voice against the nationwide rollout of Special Intensive Revision. Senior leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi questioned the timing of the move to launch pan-India S.I.R., calling it a 'politically convenient exercise dressed up as reform'.Earlier in August, ahead of the beginning of now-concluded SIR exercise in Bihar, senior Mahagathbandhan or INDI bloc leaders and MPs led by Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra staged a protest in the Parliament premises carrying placards reading 'SIR – Silent Invisible Rigging' and 'Our Vote. Our Right. Our Fight'. Congress leaders alleged that this electoral reform was aimed at 'disenfranchising voters' in Bihar ahead of the Assembly elections. Leaders of DMK, TMC, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, and Communist Party of India joined Congress in the protest.The party in August claimed to have filed 89 lakh complaints with the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.“We know that the Election Commission is an independent body... But now it is following the guidelines and directions of the government of India... In Bihar, they have almost deleted 65 lakh voters from the election list. Several people, including the Congress party, went to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court gave guidelines to the Bihar Election Commission on who was deleted from the voter list... The Election Commission of India is also totally supporting the ideology of the BJP in the name of the government's directions... These things clearly show that they want to delete some voters who are against the BJP,” Andhra Pradesh Congress leader V Gurunadham hit out.Congress leader, Manikrao Thakare accused BJP of trying to win the Maharashtra elections using fake voters."There are many flaws in it which have been exposed… The elections in Maharashtra are for local bodies, and they are not even looking at the voter list for that. Nor are they letting anyone look at it… It clearly means they want to win the Maharashtra elections using those fake voters.... The Election Commission should comment on the questions raised by the leaders," Thakare said.On the Election Commission's announcement for the schedule of SIR, Congress leader V. Gurunadham said, "We know that the Election Commission is an independent body... But now it is following the guidelines and directions of the government of India... In Bihar, they have almost deleted 65 lakh voters from the election list. Several people, including the Congress party, went to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court gave guidelines to the Bihar Election Commission on who was deleted from the voter list... The Election Commission of India is also totally supporting the ideology of the BJP in the name of the government's directions... These things clearly show that they want to delete some voters who are against the BJP..."Congress leader Rashid Alvi equated SIR to NRC."The first question that arises is that the Election Commission claims to implement SIR nationwide. The opposition has numerous objections, but why does the BJP support it? Deleting votes in SIR means those votes are linked to the opposition, which is why the BJP is siding with the Election Commission... SIR is another name for NRC... SIR is strangling the country's democracy," he said.Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said that the Opposition will be vigilant in protecting the voting rights of the marginalised."All leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, had set out to defend the Constitution. At that time of the Lok Sabha elections, the intention was to cut the votes of the Scheduled Castes, minorities, the poor, and the backward classes. The BJP wanted to take away the voting rights that Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar had provided in the Constitution," Tiwari told ANI."Now they are taking the Election Commission's support. They should tell how many infiltrators are in Bihar after the SIR, and if there are, then the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah should give their resignation... But the opposition will be vigilant in protecting these votes," Tiwari told ANI.Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) has said that the decision for the SIR is not in line with public sentiments."The government's decision is not in line with public sentiments. I am opposing the SIR... If this dictatorial government sticks to its decision and the SIR is announced through the Election Commission, we will not allow their intentions to remove the names of anti-BJP voters to be fulfilled. Our workers will be stationed at every booth to monitor the BLOs (Booth Level Officers)...We will wait for the instructions of our CM Hemant Soren," JMM leader Manoj Pandey said.On the SIR issue, RJD leader Mrityunjay Tiwari said, "There is no objection to the SIR... However, it is not right to steal votes through SIR or to deprive any citizen of the country of their right to vote... If the Election Commission is seen working in favour of the government, the opposition will counter it."In July, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav criticised the Election Commission for focusing on deleting names from the voter list instead of enrolling new voters."The Election Commission's job is not to cut votes but add new voters. Today, that which is happening in Bihar will happen in UP tomorrow," Yadav told ANI.Earlier, he said that SIR was proof that "BJP has prepared something big to commit dishonesty on a large scale" in the upcoming Assembly elections in the state."To win every election, BJP devises a new strategy. Eight crore votes will be done and in one to one-and-half months, you will create a new voter list," he said.He had also hoped that the Supreme Court's ruling will get the voter list corrected."We hope that the Supreme Court will get the voter list corrected from the Election Commission," he said. In West Bengal, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) has issued strong warnings to the ECI claiming that BJP is trying to manipulate voter rolls in their favour. TMC leaders have time and again stated how any attempt to remove of genuine voters could lead to major protests.On October 9, CM Mamata Banerjee accused Election Commission (EC) officials of acting under political influence and 'threatening' the state government officers."The agencies of the government of India...they are doing politics in everything...The Mir Zafars (politicians in Delhi) want to have the last word. If they do it (SIR) in Bengal, it will lead to riots," she said during a press conference.Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that it is the responsibility of the Election Commission of India to answer to the people why they are being deprived of their voting rights."Dictatorship is going on and there is no accountability. The Election Commission needs to answer the people of the country because their voting rights are being taken away," Chaturvedi earlier told ANI."Election results are being manipulated. The Election Commission is not ready to take accountability, and the BJP has come forward to defend them... We will all have to fight against the attempt to impose dictatorship by creating an atmosphere of fear," she said earlier in a separate interview to ANI.CPI(M) MP Bikashranjan Bhattacharyya doubted the procedure of SIR."The basic process of ECI's selection is faulty... The appointment of the election commission remains under a cloud... Updating of electoral role is a regular process and instead of doing the regular process of updating, suddenly hullabaloo started on SIR... Recent disclosures by the LoP of the country Rahul Gandhi, raise many doubts about the activities of the Election Commission and the ECI has not yet been able to come out clean meeting those allegations; therefore all his actions to me is really doubtful," Bhattacharyya said.Earlier, on October 6, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had announced that the revision of voter lists would be conducted across the country.On Thursday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) directed the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) to finalise their preparations for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter lists in their respective States and Union Territories, a press release by the ECI said.The ECI's two-day Conference of CEOs on SIR preparedness concluded at the India International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Management (IIIDEM) in New Delhi.According to the press release, the Commission assessed the progress made on the directions previously issued to the CEOs to map the current electors with the electors as per the last SIR in their respective States and UTs.The ECI also interacted one-on-one with the CEOs of poll-bound States and UTs, including Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, and West Bengal.Queries raised by the CEOs were also clarified after the presentations by senior officers of the Commission on the SIR process.The conference was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the press release said.CEOs of the States and UTs from across the country attended the Conference.Queries raised by the CEOs were also clarified after the presentations by senior officers of the Commission on the SIR process.The conference was presided over by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in the presence of Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, the press release said.
