BJP attempting to weaponise SIR; a silent EC will be seen as complicit in ‘vote chori’: Congress

The Congress party on Tuesday slammed the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over alleged ‘vote chori’, while asserting that it is committed to safeguarding the integrity of electoral rolls.

Speaking after a review meeting with Congress representatives from 12 states and union territories where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is underway, party national president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Election Commission’s conduct during the SIR in Bihar, where elections were recently held, was disappointing.

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“We held a comprehensive strategy review with AICC General Secretaries, AICC In-Charges, PCCs, CLPs, and AICC Secretaries from the states/UTs where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process is underway. The Congress Party is unequivocally committed to safeguarding the integrity of the electoral rolls,” Kharge posted on his X handle.

“At a time when public confidence in democratic institutions is already strained, the Election Commission’s conduct during the SIR process has been deeply disappointing,” he added.

We held a comprehensive strategy review with AICC General Secretaries, AICC In-Charges, PCCs, CLPs, and AICC Secretaries from the states/UTs where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process is underway.

The Congress Party is unequivocally committed to safeguarding the… pic.x.com/cVcjyaJGEo

— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 18, 2025

The senior Congress leader said the poll panel was bound to demonstrate it was not working hand in glove with the BJP. He further accused the BJP of seeking to “weaponise” the SIR and use it to commit electoral fraud. He said if the Election Commission chooses to ignore the BJP’s malpractices, then it automatically becomes complicit in ‘vote chori’.

“It (the ECI) must immediately demonstrate that it is not operating under the BJP’s shadow and it remembers its Constitutional oath and allegiance to the people of India, not to any ruling party.

“We firmly believe that the BJP is attempting to weaponise the SIR process for Vote Chori. And if the EC chooses to look the other way, that failure is not just administrative – it becomes a complicity of silence,” he added.

Kharge further said that Congress workers have been asked to remain “relentlessly vigilant” and expose “every attempt, however subtle, to delete genuine voters or insert bogus ones”.

“The Congress Party will not allow Democratic safeguards to be eroded by partisan misuse of institutions,” Kharge concluded.

The meeting at the Congress headquarters at the Indira Bhawan in Delhi was also attended by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi. Kharge, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal and other senior Congress leaders also attended the meeting.