Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has stepped up his criticism of the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, alleging that “vote chori” is a direct attack on the Constitution.

He also accused the BJP, RSS and Election Commission of committing what he called an “act of treason.”

Rahul Gandhi’s Strong Message to EC

In a post on X on Wednesday, Gandhi said that what the Election Commission and its officials were doing was wrong and “against the country.” He warned that those responsible would eventually be held accountable.

His comments came amid a fresh controversy over the functioning of the poll panel and its handling of electoral-roll revisions.

Reports of Objections Within Election Commission

The controversy follows a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections multiple times over decisions related to electoral rolls.

According to the report, the two commissioners had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period, including issues involving the addition and deletion of voter names and other electoral-roll decisions.

Election Commission Rejects Claims of Division

The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections indicate a split within the poll panel.

The EC said that differences during internal discussions are part of the functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and maintained that all decisions, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously with the approval of all three election commissioners.

SIR Becomes Major Political Flashpoint

The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has become a major political issue, with opposition parties questioning the process and raising concerns about potential voter exclusions. The Election Commission has maintained that the exercise is intended to update electoral rolls and identify ineligible or duplicate entries.

The political dispute over SIR and the Election Commission's functioning is continuing, with both the allegations and the poll panel's response now at the centre of the debate.