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Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Saturday accused the Election Commission of enabling "vote theft" through the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. He claimed that the current figure of 64 lakh illegitimate voters could rise to one crore.
Speaking to ANI, Baghel said, "The stand of the Congress party is absolutely clear. SIR must be conducted, but there should be adequate time for it... Today, the number of illegitimate voters is 64 lakhs; tomorrow, they might take the number up to 1 crore. As Rahul Gandhi said, SIR has become another method of vote theft, and the Election Commission is playing the role of an associate." He echoed Rahul Gandhi's allegation that the SIR exercise is being used as a tool for voter manipulation and raised doubts about the Election Commission's commitment to electoral integrity. Congress MP Rajeev Shukla also strongly opposed the voter list revision in Bihar, calling it a conspiracy to remove legitimate voters from the rolls ahead of the assembly polls. "It has been five days since we have been protesting against this (SIR) in Parliament. The Election Commission should pay attention to this: the attempt to disrupt the voter list and the manipulation of votes. Why don't you allow (verify) people with Voter ID cards? You made them. People feel there is a conspiracy in this that votes are being cut deliberately," Shukla told ANI. "When the Election Commission is involved in such activities, there is strong opposition. The protest will continue. The opposition is united, and the Election Commission will have to make changes in their attitude," he added. Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on July 25 that 99.8 per cent of Bihar's electors have already been covered under the Special Intensive Revision. According to the ECI, forms for 7.23 crore electors have been received and digitised, and their names will be included in the Draft Electoral Roll. The digitisation of the remaining forms and BLO reports is expected to be completed by August 1, 2025. The ongoing SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar has erupted into a massive row in the country, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that it will delete a significant chunk of voters. The first week of the Monsoon Session of Parliament witnessed repeated disruptions and adjournments. Several opposition parliamentarians submitted adjournment motions and notices to suspend business in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The House will reconvene on July 28. (ANI)
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