Jairam Ramesh Accuses EC of Creating 'Chaos' Through Electoral Roll Revision

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday intensified his attack on the Election Commission (EC) over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that the poll body has created "chaos and absolute mayhem" through the way it is conducting the exercise.

In a post on X, the Congress general secretary in-charge of communications shared an article by former Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Director General R. S. Sharma , who argued that asking citizens to prove their citizenship reflects a failure of the state. Calling the article "powerful and courageous," Ramesh praised Sharma's scientific and technological background while reiterating his criticism of the EC.

"The Election Commission has unleashed chaos and absolute mayhem that is sparing nobody," Ramesh said, renewing the Congress party's allegations against the poll watchdog.

The remarks come days after the Congress accused the Election Commission of functioning as an "arm of the BJP" and alleged that the SIR forms part of the "Modi-Shah strategy" to manipulate electoral rolls and "manufacture a majority" in elections.

Ramesh maintained that the Congress is not opposed to the revision of electoral rolls as a democratic exercise. Instead, he said the party's objections are directed at the manner in which the EC is "managing, coordinating, and manipulating" the entire process.

The Election Commission , however, has consistently defended the SIR, stating that the revision aims to improve the accuracy of electoral rolls by removing deceased, duplicate, shifted, absent voters, and foreign nationals . The poll body has maintained that the exercise is intended to ensure clean and credible voter lists ahead of future elections.

The exchange marks the latest escalation in the ongoing political confrontation between the opposition and the Election Commission over the implementation of the electoral roll revision process.