Kharge escalates SIR attack, calls for dissolution of governments & ballot-based elections

New Delhi, Oct 3 (UNI) Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday intensified his attack on the Centre and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that "illegal elections" were being held in the country and calling for the dissolution of governments and fresh elections through ballot papers.

In a post on social media platform X, Kharge said, "Desh mein illegal chunao ho rahe hain" (illegal elections are taking place in the country), and went on to refer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as an "illegal Prime Minister" and union Home Minister Amit Shah as an "illegal Home Minister". "Sarkarein bhang ki jayein aur ballot par chunao karaye jayein," ("governments should be dissolved and elections should be held he on ballots"), said, demanding that governments be dissolved and elections conducted through ballot papers.

Kharge also alleged that Modi and Shah were using the SIR exercise to "destroy the country" and were seeking to "finish democracy". His remarks came amid a widening confrontation between the Congress and other Opposition parties on one side and the Election Commission on the other over the ongoing revision of electoral rolls.

The Congress and several Opposition parties have alleged that the SIR exercise could lead to the exclusion of large numbers of eligible voters and have questioned the transparency and methodology of the process. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that the exercise is intended to ensure the accuracy and integrity of electoral rolls and that eligible voters will have opportunities to submit claims and objections. The SIR process is being carried out in phases in several states and union Territories and involves house-to-house verification, publication of draft electoral rolls, a claims-and-objections period and subsequent final publication of the rolls.

The electoral-roll controversy has intensified in recent weeks, with the Congress Working Committee demanding greater transparency in the exercise and restoration of names that it alleges have been wrongly excluded. Kharge has also backed demands for the restoration of pre-SIR electoral rolls and the use of ballot papers, making electoral transparency a central theme of the party's campaign against the revision exercise. Opposition parties have also organised protests against the SIR and demanded greater accountability from the poll panel.

The Election Commission has defended the exercise while announcing measures aimed at facilitating verification, including home visits and opportunities for eligible voters and their authorised representatives to participate in the claims-and-objections process. Kharge's latest remarks further sharpen the Congress's political challenge over SIR, linking the electoral-roll exercise to wider concerns raised by the Opposition over the conduct of elections, voter inclusion and the functioning of democratic institutions.

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