Congress Calls for Full Transparency on Voter Deletions in Uttarakhand’s SIR Roll Update

Dehradun: The recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Uttarakhand has ignited a fresh political controversy. The state unit of the Congress alleges that a huge chunk of names vanished from the voter list and is urging the Election Commission to reveal the precise statistics.

Congress Sounds the Alarm Over Missing Voters

Addressing reporters at the party’s Uttarakhand Bhawan, former legislator and chair of the Congress SIR Committee Manoj Rawat claimed that approximately 13.85 lakh voters disappeared from the rolls during the pre‑SIR and SIR stages. Rawat questioned why the Election Commission has yet to disclose the detailed deletion data and demanded that the figures for each phase be made publicly accessible to guarantee transparency.

Concerns About the Use of Form‑7

Rawat also raised doubts over the deployment of Form‑7 in the revision process. He noted that automatically generated forms, complaints allegedly lodged by BJP workers, and the apparent lack of follow‑up on those complaints have cast a shadow over the openness of the exercise.

Alleged Coordination Between Agencies

The Congress leader suggested that eligible voters might have been unintentionally omitted and hinted at a possible coordination between the Election Commission and the BJP. He emphasized that these remain party allegations and have not been substantiated in any court of law.

BLOs Guarded Voter Names

Rawat lauded the party’s booth‑level officers (BLOs) for their vigilance. According to him, Congress’s grassroots cadres remained active throughout the revision, flagging cases where legitimate voters were at risk of being removed.

Worries About the Next Inclusion Phase

The party also warned about the upcoming addition round via Form‑6. Rawat insisted that both the inclusion and exclusion of names must follow a clear, verifiable, and transparent procedure.

Demand for Complete Disclosure

Congress has formally requested that the Election Commission publish all SIR‑related data, including the exact count of deletions at each stage. The party argues that such full disclosure will dispel doubts and restore confidence in the integrity of the electoral roll.

“Electoral rolls are the backbone of every citizen’s voting right,” Rawat asserted. “Each step of their preparation must be open to scrutiny.”

Present at the briefing were senior Congress leaders such as state general secretary Rajendra Bhandari, minority department president Haji Suleman Ansari, chief spokesperson Garima Mehra Dausoni, SIR committee member Amendra Bisht, and advocate Sandeep Chamoli.