Kharge Raises SIR and Voter Registration Concerns at CWC Meeting

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at the Congress Working Committee meeting. Referring to the ideas of B. R. Ambedkar, Kharge alleged that voters’ names were being removed from electoral rolls arbitrarily at the government’s direction. The Congress has also raised questions over the additional declaration linked to Form 6, which is used for registering new voters. The Election Commission, however, has said that the original Form 6 has not been changed and that an additional Annexure D declaration was introduced under the SIR process.

Kharge also alleged that the process could create difficulties for young, first-time voters and accused the government of targeting Gen Z. He congratulated Rahul Gandhi over issues the Congress leader had previously raised, saying subsequent developments had supported those concerns. Kharge further drew a political comparison between demonetisation and what he described as a possible “vote-ban”, arguing that the electoral-roll controversy could have implications for democratic participation. These remarks represent the Congress party’s position on the ongoing SIR and Form 6 controversy.