‘Democracy Is Being Undermined’: INDIA Bloc Targets Election Commission Over SIR At Ramlila Maidan

Opposition leaders and representatives of political and social organisations accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of undermining voters’ rights and compromising the electoral process at the INDIA bloc’s ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on Sunday.

INDIA Block leaders alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had resulted in the exclusion of eligible voters, particularly from minority and disadvantaged communities, and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Addressing the gathering, Anil A Thomas, vice-chairman of the All India Congress Committee’s (AICC) Minority Department, alleged that the revision had disproportionately affected Muslims, Christians and Sikhs.

The rally, led by the Congress and other INDIA bloc parties, was organised to protest against alleged irregularities in voter-list revision and seek accountability from the poll panel.

Opposition Leaders Allege Wrongful Deletion Of Voters, Targeting Of Minorities

Speaking to Outlook, Thomas alleged that people from minority communities had been removed from electoral rolls, including some who were still alive but had been marked as deceased.

He described the alleged deletions as a possible understanding between the Election Commission and the government and demanded a clarification from the poll panel.

“The biggest weapon any person has in a democracy is their vote. Once you are deprived of voting, the entire democratic setup is disturbed,” he said, urging the authorities to address concerns over the revision. Thomas also called for Kumar’s immediate suspension or removal from office.

Gurdeep Sappal, a politician who addressed the gathering, accused the Election Commission of failing to protect citizens’ voting rights and alleged that voter-list changes had created opportunities for manipulation.

He claimed that the Congress had submitted evidence of alleged irregularities involving a mobile application and an OTP-based system, as well as 34 reports of software malfunctions and loopholes, but that these complaints had not been investigated.

Sappal argued that the right to vote was essential to holding elected governments accountable, adding that people would recognise its importance even when they were also concerned about jobs, prices and other everyday issues.

KBR Naidu, an AICC observer for Telangana for the ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign, questioned the Election Commission’s decision-making process, alleging that Kumar had acted unilaterally on the SIR exercise without taking the other two election commissioners into confidence.

He described the alleged lack of collective decision-making as unconstitutional and said it had damaged public confidence in the institution. Naidu also praised Rahul Gandhi for leading the campaign against what he described as irregularities in the electoral process.

Leaders Question SIR Process, Cite Concerns Over Electoral Roll Changes

G Devarajan, general secretary of the All India Forward Bloc and special representative of the Kerala government in New Delhi, said the protest was not directed against the independence of the Election Commission but against what he alleged was the undermining of democratic institutions.

He questioned the manner in which the SIR decision was taken, claiming there had been no unanimous decision or provision for conducting the exercise. Devarajan also cited the deletion of more than 13 crore names from electoral rolls, arguing that the scale of the changes raised questions about the legitimacy of the electoral process.

He further questioned changes to Form 6, used by citizens to apply for voter registration, and referred to reported objections raised by the two other election commissioners.

P Prasad Naidu, president of the National OBC Association, also criticised the government over what he described as the exclusion of poorer and backward communities from opportunities and democratic rights.

He questioned whether access to jobs and education was being limited to wealthy sections of society, asking whether poorer and disadvantaged caste groups did not have the same rights.

He also referred to concerns over alleged vote theft and the need to improve government systems. Parts of his recorded remarks were unclear, but he called attention to the participation of people from different states and communities in the rally.

Election Commission Defends SIR, Says Deletions Follow Verification Process

The allegations come amid a wider dispute over the SIR exercise, which has placed the Election Commission under scrutiny. The poll panel categorised 13.39 crore electors under the categories of absent, shifted, deceased and duplicate across the three phases of the revision.

These included 6.30 crore marked as permanently shifted, 3.01 crore as absent or untraceable, 2.80 crore as deceased and 1.02 crore as duplicate entries. The figures relate to entries flagged during the exercise and should not be interpreted as 13.39 crore eligible voters definitively removed from final electoral rolls.

The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR is intended to identify deceased, permanently shifted, duplicate and untraceable entries, and that eligible voters who are left out can seek inclusion through the prescribed claims-and-objections process.

In an affidavit filed in response to allegations concerning its functioning, the poll panel said the three orders relating to the SIR, issued in June 2025, October 2025 and May 2026, were unanimous decisions.

It also said that observations or queries raised by individual commissioners during the processing of files did not amount to formal decisions by the Commission. The poll panel has separately ordered a review of voter-roll software following concerns raised over its functioning.