Congress slams BJP over SIR, asks if revisions since 2014 'shoddy'

Congress leader Pawan Khera slammed the BJP over the SIR process, questioning the removal of 10.2 crore voters and asking if electoral roll revisions since 2014 were 'shoddy'. The BJP defended the move, citing the removal of deceased voters.

Congress Questions Voter Roll Revisions

Congress leader Pawan Khera on Sunday hit back at the BJP over its post slamming INDIA bloc leaders over their comments on the SIR process and asked if summary revisions since 2014 really were “shoddy”. Khera responded to a post by BJP which asked if INDIA bloc leaders want to keep deceased voters on the list. The Congress leader said 13 crore voters have been removed under the SIR.

“The BJP says 2.8 crore were deceased voters. Fair enough. What about the remaining 10.2 crore? And if 2.8 crore dead people were still on the rolls, were the annual Summary Revisions since 2014 really that shoddy? Is the BJP admitting that it has failed for years to maintain electoral rolls properly? If not, where did the other 10.2 crore names go? Khera asked.

BJP Defends Deletions, Alleges Misuse

BJP, in its post on X, said the SIR had removed 2.8 crore names of deceased voters from electoral rolls. The party questioned who had benefited from keeping such names on voter lists and alleged that they could be misused for bogus voting. The BJP also accused the Opposition INDIA bloc of creating a controversy over the electoral-roll revision.

SIR Becomes Political Flashpoint

The SIR exercise has become a major political flashpoint, with Opposition parties raising questions over large-scale exclusions from electoral rolls and seeking greater clarity on the reasons for deletions. They are also seeking removal CEC Gyanesh Kumar.

The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR is aimed at ensuring the accuracy of electoral rolls and that the final number of electors will be known only after completion of the exercise and publication of final rolls in the remaining states.

The latest political row erupted after a report by The Indian Express, which said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise.

The Election Commission met on Saturday and issues some fresh guidelines concerning the ongoing SIR exercise. (ANI)

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