'Shah Instigated Removal': Congress criticizes SIR for voter deletions
What's the story
The Congress party has accused Union Home Minister Amit Shah of orchestrating a "Shah Instigated Removal" of voters through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Jairam Ramesh, Congress's general secretary in charge of communications, said that Phase 1 of the SIR started in Bihar in June 2025 and Phase 2 was launched in November 2025 across nine states and three Union Territories, both of which led to widespread deletions in electoral rolls.
Deletion statistics
7.8 crore names deleted during phases 1 and 2: Ramesh
Ramesh claimed that during Phases 1 and 2, a total of 7.8 crore names were deleted from the electoral rolls, which is about 13% of the pre-SIR rolls.
Phase 3 commenced in mid-2026 in another set of states and union territories.
He alleged that by analyzing data from 12 states and two UTs, a total of 6.18 crore out of the 36.06 crore voters had their names deleted during this phase alone.
Verification concerns
Ramesh questions need for verification after deletions
Ramesh also questioned why so many voters needed to be verified after millions of deletions.
He said that a staggering 32% of voters have had their names deleted or are at risk of deletion.
The states and UTs where this is happening include Delhi, Chandigarh, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Haryana, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Punjab.
Disproportionate impact
Deletions have disproportionately impacted economically and socially disadvantaged sections: Congress
Ramesh alleged that the deletions have disproportionately impacted economically and socially disadvantaged sections of society.
He also claimed that in most major states, more women than men have been removed from electoral rolls during this process.
The Congress leader said the burden of verification has shifted from the state to citizens who are now required to produce documents they may never have received.
Public scrutiny
Over 3.16 million voters were served notices in Delhi
In Delhi, over 3.16 million voters were served notices over discrepancies in their electoral rolls.
The Chief Electoral Officer's office released a list of these electors after the draft electoral roll was published on August 31.
Voters flagged in this exercise must respond to election authorities with supporting documents to retain their names on the final roll.