Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday accused the BJP-ruled central government of taking away people's right to vote under the guise of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, pointing to West Bengal, where he claimed more than 90 lakh voter names were deleted before the assembly polls. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on October 21, Tharoor said only the appeals of around 82,000 people were heard, PTI reported.

“Of those appeals, 91 per cent were found to be of people whose names should not have been deleted. If 91 per cent voters were wrongly deleted, then what was the point of the SIR,” he asked, in remarks also carried by the Economic Times. The deletion and appeal figures are Tharoor's claims, made as the Congress steps up its campaign against the revision exercise.

90 lakh+voter names Tharoor claimed were deleted in West Bengal under the SIR
~82,000appeals he said were heard
91%of heard appeals he claimed were wrongful deletions
Nov 1Congress mega rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan

Questions over forms and the 2002 list

Tharoor questioned the mechanics of the revision itself. “Why was form 6 removed? Why was mass filing of form 7 carried out? On what basis they made the electoral list of 2002 as the foundation? Elections have been held in the country for decades, such a problem has never happened in the past,” he said, adding: “All these problems are because of this Election Commission.”

The Congress is seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who headed the Commission during the SIR, and wants accountability for the exercise, Tharoor said. A mega rally will be held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi on November 1, for which, he said, permission has been obtained from the police.

Tharoor said he had not forced anyone to vote for any party and that the demand was simply that people should be able to vote according to their wishes. “Once a free and fair polls are held, the people can decide who should win,” he added.

What is solid

  • Congress MP Shashi Tharoor told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, October 21 that the Centre had taken away voting rights under the guise of the SIR, and announced a Congress mega rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1 with police permission obtained (PTI, via The Sen Times; Economic Times).
  • The Congress is seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR (PTI).

What is only claimed

  • The figures — over 90 lakh names deleted in West Bengal, about 82,000 appeals heard, and 91 per cent of those appeals found to be wrongful deletions — are Tharoor's claims as reported; they have not been independently verified in the reports cited, and the Election Commission's response to Wednesday's remarks was not carried in those reports.

The Bengal roll revision has been one of the most contested parts of the nationwide SIR, and Wednesday's intervention — with a Delhi rally date attached — moves the Congress campaign from statements to a street mobilisation, with the Commission yet to answer the specific appeal figures Tharoor cited.