Rahul Gandhi questions the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision process, arguing it unfairly burdens parties instead of ensuring clean rolls independently.
Congress commits to fighting SIR politically through mobilization, organizationally via state-level preparations, and legally to challenge any disenfranchisement risks.
Gathering with AICC and PCC leaders signals a coordinated review in 12 states, aiming to protect voter integrity amid concerns over procedural fairness.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday voiced strong reservations about the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, declaring that the party would challenge the process on political, organizational, and legal fronts to safeguard democratic integrity.
Speaking at a high-level meeting with All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretaries, in-charges, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, and other key leaders, Gandhi underscored the ECI's primary duty to deliver accurate and clean voter lists. He criticized the commission for allegedly shifting the responsibility onto political parties, potentially complicating verification and risking exclusion of legitimate voters.
The SIR initiative, aimed at streamlining electoral rolls through door-to-door verification and deletions of ineligible entries, has drawn flak from opposition quarters amid ongoing debates over electoral transparency. Gandhi's intervention comes as Congress gears up for reviews in 12 states, focusing on grassroots mobilization to counter what the party sees as procedural overreach that could tilt the scales in favor of ruling dispensations.
"Clean electoral rolls are the ECI's job, not ours to bear the onus," Gandhi reportedly stated, urging cadres to intensify scrutiny and preparedness. This multi-pronged strategy signals Congress's intent to frame SIR as a flashpoint in broader narratives of electoral fairness, echoing past allegations of irregularities in states like Haryana and Bihar.
