SIR really means 'Shah Instigated Removal' of voters: Congress
The Indian National Congress party has accused the Election Commission of orchestrating a massive, politically motivated deletion of voters from electoral rolls. They claim the 'Special Intensive Revision' process disproportionately targets disadvantaged sections of society, calling it an assault on the Constitution.
Why it matters
Allegations of mass voter disenfranchisement in a major democracy raise significant concerns regarding the integrity of the electoral process and civil rights.
The Congress on Sunday (September 20, 2026) flagged the issue of large-scale deletions during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission, alleging that the SIR is actually a massive "Shah Instigated Removal" of voters and an "assault on the Constitution".
The opposition party said there is abundant evidence to prove that large-scale deletions across States are overwhelmingly those of voters belonging to the most economically and socially disadvantaged and deprived sections of the society.
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the Election Commission of India (ECI) began Phase-1 of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the electoral rolls in June 2025 in Bihar and subsequently Phase-2 was launched in November 2025 across nine states and three Union Territories (UTs).
In Phase-1 and Phase-2, names of 7.8 crore voters were deleted, Mr. Ramesh said in a statement.
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