Published Sep 29, 2026 | 4:37 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 29, 2026 | 4:37 PM
SIR
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday, 29 September, passed a set of resolutions following the controversy triggered by the Indian Express’s expose of the ruptures within the Election Commission of India.
The demands in the resolution include “immediate resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the SIR in view of serious concerns regarding the integrity and transparency of the electoral rolls being prepared through the SIR, as well as the constitutional validity of the SIR process itself.”
Further, they also demanded the immediate restoration of the 13 crore 30 lakh names removed from the electoral rolls.
Also Read: ‘SIR is a bloodless political genocide to exterminate citizenship’: Dr Parakala Prabhakar
The CWC in the resolution claimed that, “these revelations vindicate Rahul Gandhi’s sustained warnings about the systematic subversion of India’s electoral process through ‘Vote Chori’. He has consistently drawn the nation’s attention to the selective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, concerns over the integrity of EVMs, arbitrary additions to and deletions from electoral rolls, the changed process for appointing the CEC, and the grant of lifelong immunity to the CEC.”
The CWC further noted that concerns over the integrity of India’s elections are further heightened by the recent reports that the ECI has been reduced to a one-man show, with the CEC taking decisions without due consultation with the other Election Commissioners.
Citing the Indian Express report, the resolution read: “Reportedly, two Election Commissioners raised 14 objections over ten months, citing ‘unauthorised’ and ‘illegal’ changes to Form 6 used in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), exposing a pattern of institutional overreach. The unprecedented concentration of control over electoral rolls in the hands of a few BJP-backed officials during the nationwide SIR serves as the last nail in the coffin of the ECI’s credibility.”
𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐈𝐂𝐂 𝐇𝐐 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲👇 pic.twitter.com/l4SDnokQuk
— Congress (@INCIndia) September 29, 2026
Also Read: Why CEC Gyanesh Kumar should resign, and why the appointment process needs to change too
The working committee expressed concern over the mounting questions over the constitutionality of the SIR that has already wiped out 13 crore 30 lakh Indians from the electoral rolls.
“A process that shifts the burden onto citizens to prove their own eligibility, is executed in haste without transparent safeguards, and results in arbitrary mass-disenfranchisement cannot be reconciled with the guarantee of equality under Article 14 or universal adult suffrage under Article 326. An exercise of doubtful constitutional validity cannot be allowed to decide who may vote in the world’s largest democracy,” it added.
Further speaking of the measures taken by Congress, the resolution added, “Led by Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, Congress has fought on every front, from the Voter Adhikar Yatra and the Vote Chori campaign to legal challenges to the SIR, parliamentary protests and a march to the ECI.”
The CWC notes that “Rahul Gandhi’s once-solitary conviction has become a national demand for accountability, transparency and a restored sanctity of India’s electoral system.”
In line with this mood, it resolves to:
Also Read: Call for poll panel chief’s resignation: SIR row hits the streets; protesters detained in Delhi
Training its guns at the BJP, the Congress resolution said, “This brazen Vote Chori has been organised by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Nothing short of their resignation will ensure the safety of our constitution and hard-earned democracy.”
“The BJP and its handpicked officials must understand that this brazen theft of the people’s franchise will not go unanswered. The Congress party will resist it in Parliament, in the courts and on the streets, until the guilty are punished, every citizen’s vote is secure, and the ECI is restored as an independent constitutional authority.”
“For the Indian National Congress, the struggle to restore universal adult franchise in India is no less than the Freedom Struggle itself. And we will ensure that this struggle reaches its rightful conclusion.”
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
