SIR a bid to institutionalise 'vote theft', claims Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Sunday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is an attempt to cover up ''vote theft'' and institutionalise it.

Speaking to reporters here, Gandhi also said he believes that like Haryana, ''vote theft'' took place in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh too.

''Vote theft is an issue and SIR now, it is about covering it up and institutionalising the system,'' the Congress MP claimed.

Gandhi arrived in Pachmarhi hill town in Narmadapuram on Saturday to take part in the Madhya Pradesh district Congress presidents' training camp.

The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters' list commenced in nine states and three Union Territories on November 4.

The massive exercise will cover nearly 51 crore electors across 321 districts and 1,843 assembly constituencies of these nine states and three UTs.

''A few days ago, I gave a presentation on Haryana, and I clearly saw that vote theft was taking place...25 lakh votes were stolen, 1 in 8 votes were stolen,'' Gandhi alleged.

''After looking at that, after looking at the data, I believe that the same thing happened in MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. And this is the system of the BJP and EC (Election Commission),'' he charged.

''We have more evidence, which we will provide gradually. But my issue is vote theft. The SIR now, it is about covering it up and institutionalising the system,'' he claimed.

Asked whether he will reveal more such details in future, Gandhi said they have a ''lot of different information, very detailed information,'' and they will release it.

''Right now, only a little has been shown,'' the Congress leader said.

''But my issue is that democracy is being attacked, Ambedkar's Constitution is being attacked. (Prime Minister) Modi ji, (Union Home Minister) Amit Shah ji and (Chief Election Commissioner) Gyanesh ji are doing this directly by forming a joint partnership. And because of this, the country is suffering a lot. Bharat Mata is being harmed, Bharat Mata is being damaged,'' he alleged.

To another question, Gandhi said they received good feedback on the Congress district presidents' training in Madhya Pradesh.

For the SIR, the poll authority has pressed into action over 5.3 lakh booth-level officers (BLOs), 10,448 electoral registration officers and 321 district election officers. Besides, 7.64 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties are also on the field to assist BLOs.

The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9, and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7.

The Election Commission officials recently said Rahul Gandhi flags impurities in past polls but opposes special intensive revision aimed at cleaning up the electoral rolls.

Gandhi has claimed that the 2024 Haryana assembly polls were ''stolen''. He cited electoral roll data to claim that 25 lakh entries were fake and the Election Commission colluded with the BJP to ensure its victory.

The EC has, however, asserted that Gandhi's vote manipulation charge is ''unfounded'' as neither any appeals were filed against the electoral rolls in Haryana nor was any multiple voting flagged when it happened.