&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Congress calls SIR 'Shah Instigated Removal' of voters, says process an 'assault on Constitution'")
The Congress on Sunday (September 20) expressed concerns over alleged large-scale voter deletions amid the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls launched by the Election Commission. The party indicated that the process involves the deletion and verification of millions of names across states.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, describing the exercise as a massive “Shah Instigated Removal” of voters and accused the process of amounting to an “assault on the Constitution”. The Congress also accused that amid the deletion process, voters from different sections had been disproportionately affected.
Jairam Ramesh also said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) started Phase 1 of the SIR process in June 2025 in Bihar; later, Phase 2 was launched in November 2025 across nine states and three Union Territories (UTs).
Phase 3 of SIR underway
Ramesh said 7.8 crore voter names had been removed during Phases 1 and 2, accounting for 13 per cent of the electoral roll that existed before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). He noted that Phase 3 got underway in mid-2026, covering 16 states and three Union Territories. According to data from 12 states and two Union Territories, he alleged, 6.18 crore of the 36.06 crore voters included in this ongoing phase have already had their names deleted.
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"The deletion rate works out to over 17 per cent. An additional 5.43 crore voters have been issued notices demanding additional documentation to have their names retained on the electoral roll. The risk of deletion rate works to another 15%. This is an unusually high proportion that reflects structural flaws in the entire SIR process," Ramesh said.
He further questioned why such a large number of voters would still need to undergo verification, given the scale of deletions already recorded. "Thus, a staggering 32 per cent (or about one in three) of voters have had their names deleted or face risk of deletion. The state-wise picture on this measure is as follows: Delhi (53.73%). Chandigarh (52.58%), Jharkhand (39.57%), Uttarakhand (35.71%), Meghalaya (35.36%), Maharashtra (33.88%), Telangana (48.90%), Karnataka (27.6%), Haryana (37.5%), Odisha (23.67%), Andhra Pradesh (21.17%) and Punjab (15.23%). 4. The list of voters facing risk of deletion in Karnataka, Telangana and Jharkhand was made publicly available so voters can check if they are on it." "Delhi made this list available publicly only on September 19th 2026 and that too only in response to public pressure. Other BJP-ruled states as well as Punjab have not done so till now," he said.
