Election Commission says SIR decisions were unanimous

The Election Commission of India said decisions on the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls were approved unanimously by all three commissioners, as Congress demonstrations and demands for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation intensified the dispute over voter-list changes on Monday, September 28. Congress leaders alleged that large numbers of names had been removed from voter rolls and questioned the Election Commission’s impartiality. The party cited nearly 13 crore deletions nationwide, while another Congress claim referred to nearly 14 crore removals across three SIR phases. The figures have different stated scopes and periods and have not been independently reconciled in the available information. The party described the process as mass disenfranchisement, a claim not established by an independent audit in the reports. In Gujarat, Congress held protests in several cities and said its demonstrations were part of a nationwide campaign at more than 1,000 locations. In Surat, protesters blocked a road and police detained demonstrators, according to local reporting. A confrontation with police followed an attempted effigy burning in Vadodara.