Jairam Ramesh questions rationale behind SIR, says only 1,600 foreign nationals identified in six states

New Delhi, Oct 29 : Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh on Thursday questioned the rationale behind the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the exercise had identified only 1,600 foreign nationals among nearly 10 crore people covered in six states.

In a post on social media platform X, Ramesh accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of misleading the country about the objectives of the SIR. He recalled that Shah had described the exercise as having a "3D objective" — to "detect, delete and deport" infiltrators — with the stated aim of "purifying" electoral rolls.

Citing figures from Karnataka, Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Kerala, Goa and Mizoram, Ramesh said nearly 10 crore people had undergone the revision process, but only 1,600 foreign nationals had been identified.

"Nearly 10 crore people went through the SIR in these states — to find 1600 'foreigners'," he said, adding that comparable data were unavailable for the remaining 20 states and Union Territories as the Election Commission of India (ECI) had reportedly not asked them to collect such information.

Referring to Karnataka, Ramesh said nearly 99.7 lakh names had been deleted from the electoral rolls, while only 716 foreign nationals were identified, including 545 from Nepal. He questioned whether the extensive revision was proportionate to its stated objective of identifying foreign nationals and removing ineligible voters.

The Congress leader alleged that the exercise could deprive large numbers of eligible Indian citizens of their constitutional right to vote. He described the SIR as a "conspiracy" allegedly devised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah and implemented by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar through various means, including ECINET, the Election Commission's digital platform.

Reiterating the Congress's demand for action against the Chief Election Commissioner, Ramesh called for Kumar's removal, suspension of the SIR exercise and a revamp of ECINET.

"Gyanesh Kumar has to go. SIR has to be suspended. ECINET has to be revamped," he said.

The controversy over the SIR has intensified the confrontation between the Opposition and the Election Commission, with the Congress and other opposition parties alleging a lack of transparency and expressing concerns over the possible exclusion of eligible voters.

The Election Commission has undertaken the revision as part of its efforts to update electoral rolls. However, opposition parties have questioned the implementation process, the criteria adopted for deleting names and the safeguards available to voters whose names are removed.

The figures cited by Ramesh have added a fresh dimension to the political debate, with the Congress arguing that the identification of a relatively small number of foreign nationals cannot, by itself, justify the extensive revision and large-scale deletions.