Rahul Gandhi Says ‘Vote Chori’ Is Treason, Targets BJP, RSS And EC Amid SIR Electoral Roll Row

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the BJP, RSS and Election Commission of committing an act of “treason” over what he called “vote chori”, saying it was a direct attack on the Constitution.

“Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our Constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served,” Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, said in a post on X.

His remarks came after The Indian Express reported that two of the three Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had repeatedly raised objections over decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to PTI, Sandhu and Joshi have formally objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions and orders which they said were taken without their knowledge. Four of the objections were made on a single day, according to the report.

The objections reportedly covered key aspects of electoral-roll management, including the addition, deletion and restoration of voters, appeals against electoral-roll decisions and the handling of voter data.

The two commissioners also raised concerns over changes to Form 6, the statutory form used by new voters to register, as well as aspects of the management and centralisation of electoral-roll data, The Indian Express reported.

The Election Commission, however, has said that its decisions on the SIR were unanimous. In a clarification on Wednesday, EC officials said all decisions of the poll panel, including those concerning the SIR, had the approval of the Chief Election Commissioner and both Election Commissioners.

The clarification came amid reports of the objections by Sandhu and Joshi. The EC said the concerns raised by the two commissioners did not alter the Commission’s final decisions.

PTI reported that Gandhi also shared a video of earlier remarks in which he had warned Election Commission officials that what they were indulging in amounted to “treason” and said they would not be spared.

Gandhi has previously accused the Election Commission of facilitating “vote chori” and has raised objections to the SIR exercise. The Congress has argued that the revision process could lead to eligible voters being excluded from electoral rolls. The Election Commission has maintained that the exercise is intended to update electoral rolls and remove ineligible or duplicate entries.

The SIR began in Bihar in 2025 and has since been expanded to other states and Union Territories. The exercise has become a point of political dispute, with opposition parties questioning aspects of the revision and the Election Commission defending the process.

The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR decisions had the approval of all three members, even as the reported objections by Sandhu and Joshi have added to the political dispute over the electoral-roll revision exercise.