CONGRESS STEPS UP ATTACK ON EC OVER REPORTED SIR OBJECTIONS

September 24, 2026

NEW DELHI: The Congress on Thursday intensified its criticism of the Election Commission following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised repeated objections to decisions concerning electoral-roll revision and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the reported developments showed a centralisation of electoral-roll management and claimed that valid voters in Goa had been deleted by the ECINet software despite objections from electoral officials. These claims were based on a report by The Indian Express concerning communications between Goa election officials and the Election Commission.

Ramesh further alleged that changes to the voter-registration process had made the inclusion of new voters more difficult and described the developments as part of what he called the “Method of Disenfranchising Indians (MODI).” He demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and said the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister should be held accountable for what the Congress alleges are irregularities in the electoral process.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that although the two commissioners raised objections on several matters, the final decisions of the three-member commission were unanimous. The reported objections and the Congress’s allegations therefore remain part of an ongoing political and institutional dispute over the conduct of SIR and management of electoral rolls.