Published Sep 28, 2026 | 9:55 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 28, 2026 | 9:55 PM
Gandhi said the ECI was snatching away the only power of those who already have the least.
Synopsis: Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that the Election Commission had struck off 727 of the 728 residents of Bela Estate in Delhi during the SIR. He said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the system that enabled the “vote theft” would “have to answer”. Separately, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy accused the BJP of using the Election Commission in the same way the British used the Simon Commission during the colonial period, and said the country’s youth would not stop until the exercise was withdrawn.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has vowed to hold accountable “the system” behind the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He accused the Election Commission of engaging in “vote theft” in the guise of the SIR and said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the system that enabled him would “have to answer”.
On Monday, 28 September, Gandhi visited residents of the Bela Estate, within the Yamuna’s floodplains in Delhi. He alleged that of the 728 people residing there, only one person remained on the voter list.
“The other 727 names have been struck off. These people have been living here for decades. They have already voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the 2025 Delhi elections. In 2023, their homes were demolished – but they didn’t go anywhere, they’re still right here,” he said in a post on X.
In a video accompanying the post, Gandhi could be heard enquiring with the local SDM about why the residents’ names had been struck off.
यमुना किनारे बेला एस्टेट में 728 लोग रहते हैं। SIR के बाद वोटर लिस्ट में सिर्फ़ एक नाम बचा – बाकी 727 नाम काट दिए गए।
ये लोग दशकों से यहाँ रह रहे हैं। 2024 के लोकसभा चुनाव और 2025 के दिल्ली चुनावों में वोट डाल चुके हैं। 2023 में इनके घर तोड़ दिए गए थे – पर ये कहीं नहीं गए, यहीं… pic.twitter.com/27cJZjqJg6
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 28, 2026
“On the phone with the SDM, I said exactly this – having a house or not has no connection to the right to vote. CEC Gyanesh Kumar himself has said that ‘House Number 0’ is for the homeless. Yet, 727 people’s names have been struck off,” he said.
“This isn’t SIR – this is a method of vote theft. From those who already have the least, their only power is being snatched away. Gyanesh Kumar will go. But the system that made him do this will also have to answer.”
In recent days, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been facing mounting pressure to step down. Gandhi has accused Kumar’s actions of being “treason” and said he should turn approver against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. The Cockroach Janata Party has given the CEC an ultimatum to resign or face nationwide protests.
Also Read: New revelation: MLA had confronted Gyanesh Kumar over inaction on illegal sand mining
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has called for the SIR to be withdrawn and compared the campaign against it with the protests against the Simon Commission during British rule.
“It is straightforward: in 1929, the slogan ‘Simon Go Back’ was raised. Today, it is SIR. Go Back, SIR Go Back. Until the SIR is taken back, the youth of this country are not going to stop,” Reddy told the media.
“That is why, just as the British used Simon Commission, the Bharatiya Janata Party is using the Election Commission in the same way as the Simon Commission. It is trying to take away the foundation of this country – the right to vote,” he said.
Reddy called on young people to take to the streets and said Gandhi was now fighting the battle against the SIR.
“That is why it is very important for the entire youth to come out onto the streets, and we should prepare for that. In the coming days, just as Bhagat Singh fought the battle against the Simon Commission, today Rahul Gandhi is fighting this battle of SIR Go Back. We all have to provide our support. It is very important,” he said.
The SIR was first rolled out in Bihar in June 2025 and has since expanded across most of the country in three phases. The third phase is now under way across 16 States and three Union Territories, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Telangana.
The Election Commission has struck more than 13 crore names from the draft electoral rolls in 30 States and Union Territories. The deletions, along with questions over the legality of the exercise, have brought the Commission’s handling of the SIR under intense public scrutiny.
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
