SIR Under Scrutiny: INDIA Bloc Alleges Voter Exclusion, EC Defends Verification Process

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across India came under criticism in Chennai on Thursday, as Left parties demanded accountability from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Addressing an INDIA bloc protest, CPI(M) Tamil Nadu secretary P Shanmugam criticised action against student and youth protesters in Delhi. He said the right to protest was constitutionally protected.

Shanmugam alleged that the Election Commission had become a “puppet” of the ruling party and claimed that 13.5 crore voters had been removed from electoral rolls. He alleged that the revision risked disenfranchising Muslims and marginalised communities. These claims were made by the party leader and were not established findings.

The Election Commission has said that 13.39 crore electors were classified as absent, permanently shifted, deceased, duplicate or otherwise flagged during the revision. The categories do not mean that every elector was finally deleted. Official figures reported on October 7 said 95.40 crore electors had been scrutinised across three phases, with Booth Level Officers checking the rolls.

CPI state secretary M Veerapandian urged Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay to speak out against what he called an injustice. He referred to the democratic principles associated with Mahatma Gandhi, B R Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru.

Veerapandian also criticised the judiciary, alleging that a Supreme Court hearing had focused on clerical errors rather than broader concerns about voter exclusion.

On October 14, the Supreme Court advanced a hearing on Delhi’s SIR process to October 28 after a plea raised concerns that voters whose names were deleted from draft rolls were being asked to use Form 6, intended for first-time registration. On October 15, the Court also issued notice to the Election Commission and senior officials on an opposition petition seeking records related to SIR decision-making. The notices do not constitute a finding of wrongdoing.

The Left parties urged INDIA bloc members and people in Tamil Nadu to join protests and hold statewide demonstrations.