NEW DELHI: The Congress on Monday criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it a “malicious and mischievous” exercise that could disenfranchise millions of voters. The party, along with nine opposition groups, has approached the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) move.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal described the revision as a rigging attempt orchestrated by the ECI under instructions from the ruling regime. “As a signatory on behalf of the Indian National Congress, along with various opposition parties, we have approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court against the blatantly unconstitutional SIR exercise in Bihar. It has caused widespread anxiety among crores of voters who fear their right to vote will be stolen. This is mass-scale rigging and mischief by the ECI under the ruling regime’s directive. We trust the Supreme Court will deliver justice,” he wrote on ‘X’.
Pawan Khera, Congress in charge of media and publicity, said the entire opposition stands united against the “flawed and destructive” SIR process, which is “guaranteed to disenfranchise a vast number of voters due to its malicious and mischievous methodology.” The Supreme Court has listed the matter for hearing on Thursday, July 10 2025.
Rajya Sabha MP and Congress General Secretary Randeep Surjewala questioned the revision, pointing out that Bihar’s voter list was finalised in January 2025 and revised until June. “Then, suddenly, it was discarded… Without any proof or discrepancies, 70 million voters now have to prove their Indian citizenship again,” he said.
A partial working day bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi took note of submissions by senior lawyers, led by Kapil Sibal representing several petitioners, and agreed to hear the pleas on Thursday. Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Jha, described the exercise as “impossible to complete within the timeline.” Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi stated that out of around 80 million voters in Bihar, approximately 40 million would have to submit documents under the exercise.
Surjewala added on ‘X’ in Hindi, “This process called ‘Special Intensive Revision’ has no legal basis and is not mentioned in any electoral law or rules.”