‘Vote Chori’ Game Now In 12 States: Congress Attacks Poll Body Over Voter List Revision
The Congress party on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission, accusing it of colluding with the Modi government to orchestrate a “game of vote chori (voter theft)” through the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The party alleged that after the controversial revision in Bihar, which it claims led to the deletion of 69 lakh names, the same “exercise in voter manipulation” is now being expanded to 12 more states.In a sharply worded post on X, the Congress declared, “The Election Commission is now going to play the ‘vote chori’ game in 12 states.
Under the SIR, 69 lakh votes were cut in Bihar, and now crores will be deleted across 12 states. This is open voter theft, being carried out jointly by Narendra Modi and the Election Commission.” The attack came shortly after Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar announced the SIR’s launch in states including Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.Senior Congress leader Pramod Tiwari questioned the poll body’s haste, asking, “When the matter is sub judice in the Supreme Court, why is the ECI so eager to implement a nationwide SIR?”
He also raised concerns about the lack of transparency regarding alleged illegal migrants, a key issue raised by the BJP in Bihar, and questioned the “selective implementation” that excluded Assam from the current phase. “This is a slap on the ruling dispensation and a complete failure of Modi and Shah, as no illegal migrants have been detected despite their repeated claims,” Tiwari added.AICC media chairman Pawan Khera said the Bihar exercise had already cast doubt on the EC’s impartiality.
“The Election Commission has announced the SIR in 12 states, but we have yet to get answers about what happened in Bihar. The situation was so serious that the Supreme Court had to step in,” he said, alleging that the process “revealed the intent of both the Election Commission and the BJP.”
Khera asserted that the decision to expand the SIR now raises “serious doubts” as “the intent doesn’t appear clean.”The Election Commission, however, maintains that the SIR is a routine process to ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls. It pointed out that the last such intensive revision was conducted over two decades ago and that the recent Bihar phase concluded with “zero appeals” filed against its final roll, suggesting the process was fair and transparent.
