Telangana CM Revanth accuses Modi Govt of ‘Vote Theft’ through Electoral Roll Revision
New Delhi , Oct 12 (TNT):Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday accused the Narendra Modi-led Union government and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of attempting to disenfranchise eligible voters through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, and called for a nationwide movement to safeguard voting rights.
Addressing a meeting at Telangana Bhavan in New Delhi as part of the Congress-led ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign, Revanth described the fight against alleged vote theft as another freedom struggle.
He called for the slogans ‘Gyanesh Go Back’ and ‘SIR Go Back’, drawing a parallel with the ‘Simon Go Back’ movement during the freedom struggle.
The campaign was being led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and leaders of the INDIA bloc, he urged party leaders and the public to support the movement, alleging that the electoral roll revision was being misused for political purposes.
Revanth claimed that previous revisions of electoral rolls had focused on including eligible voters whose names were missing, whereas the current exercise was aimed at deleting the names of existing voters.
He alleged that the government was using the process to target political opponents and undermine democratic institutions.
Questioning the functioning of the Election Commission of India, he said the credibility of the constitutional body was essential to maintaining public confidence in democracy.
He also criticised changes introduced in 2023 to the process for appointing election commissioners, alleging that the replacement of the Chief Justice of India with a Union Cabinet minister in the selection panel weakened safeguards for impartiality.
The Chief Minister expressed concern that Dalits, Adivasis, Backward Classes, minorities, poor people and young voters could be disproportionately affected by deletions from electoral rolls. He also alleged that people expressing views critical of the BJP and the Union government on social media were at risk of losing their voting rights.
Citing figures on the country’s electorate, Revanth said the number of registered voters had risen from around 81 crore in 2014 to 91 crore in 2019 and approximately 97 crore in 2024.
He alleged that 13 crore votes had been deleted by 2026 and questioned why the electorate could decline despite population growth. These figures and allegations were presented by the Chief Minister at the meeting.
He demanded transparency in the electoral roll revision process and called on the Election Commission to explain the alleged deletions.
He also urged the President and the Chief Justice of India to address concerns surrounding the protection of voting rights.
Revanth accused the BJP of benefiting politically from the electoral changes and questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah over their alleged silence on the issue.
He also criticised restrictions on protests against the Election Commission and questioned the deployment of police in Delhi.
Drawing a parallel with the freedom movement, the Chief Minister said the campaign should protect the constitutional right to vote and prevent any section of society from being reduced to second-class citizenship.
He said the Congress and the INDIA bloc would intensify their efforts to ensure that every eligible citizen retained the right to vote.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Mahesh Kumar Goud, AICC observer Sachin Sawant, MPs, MLAs, MLCs and other Congress leaders attended the meeting.
TNT KM
