CM Revanth Reddy Alleges Conspiracy to Delete Voters’ Names Under SIR

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of conspiring to remove eligible voters from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. Calling the fight to protect voting rights another freedom movement, he urged Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and INDIA bloc leaders to unite in defending democratic rights.

Speaking at the ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ meeting at Telangana Bhavan in Delhi, Revanth Reddy called for a nationwide campaign against the alleged misuse of electoral roll revisions. Drawing parallels with the freedom struggle slogan ‘Simon Go Back’, he proposed slogans such as ‘Gyanesh Go Back’ and ‘SIR Go Back’ and asked Congress representatives to support Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to protect voters.

The Chief Minister said universal suffrage, guaranteed by the Constitution drafted under Dr B.R. Ambedkar’s leadership, had helped ensure political equality for the poor, Dalits, Adivasis and other disadvantaged communities. He alleged that the current revision exercise was being used for political advantage rather than simply correcting electoral records.

Revanth Reddy also questioned the independence of the Election Commission of India, criticising changes made to the appointment process for election commissioners in 2023. He argued that removing the Chief Justice of India from the selection process and including the Union Home Minister raised concerns about impartiality. He urged the commission to maintain transparency and prevent eligible voters from being wrongly excluded.

The Chief Minister expressed concern that Dalits, Adivasis, backward communities, young people and economically disadvantaged citizens could be affected by deletions. He also alleged that people critical of the Union government might face targeting through the revision process, calling for safeguards to protect every citizen’s voting rights.

Citing electoral figures, Revanth Reddy said India had around 81 crore voters in 2014, 91 crore in 2019 and approximately 97 crore during the 2024 general elections. He claimed that 13 crore votes had been deleted in 2026, with efforts allegedly underway to increase the number to 20 crore. These figures require verification against official electoral data.

He appealed to the President and the Chief Justice of India to address public concerns and called on the Congress and INDIA bloc to expand their campaign nationwide. Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers, party representatives and other Congress leaders attended the meeting.