Rajasthan: Congress says ‘vote theft’ after deletion of 41.85 lakh voters 

Jaipur, Dec 17 (IANS) A political controversy has erupted in Rajasthan following the deletion of 41.85 lakh voter names from the electoral rolls under the Special Summary Revision (SSR) process. 

The Congress has alleged a politically motivated conspiracy, accusing the Election Commission of acting in collusion with the BJP to selectively remove voters.

Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra launched a sharp attack on the process through a post on the social media platform X, alleging large-scale manipulation of voter lists.

“Now the whole country understands that SIR, being conducted in collusion with the Election Commission and the BJP, actually means stealing India’s rights. Those who were feared to lose were the ones whose names were deleted. The removal of 41.85 lakh voters in Rajasthan is not a procedural exercise, but a well-planned conspiracy of vote theft,” Dotasra wrote.

Dotasra further claimed that voters from Dalit, backward, minority, and economically weaker sections were disproportionately affected. 

“The roots of democracy have been attacked. The BJP knows that if free and fair elections are held, its defeat is certain. That is why partisan vote deletion is being carried out under the cover of the Election Commission and the administration,” he said, urging citizens to unite against what he termed an assault on constitutional voting rights. 

Leader of the Opposition Tika Ram Jully also questioned the deletion of names under the ‘shifted’ and ‘absent’ categories. 

“If someone has shifted, they must have gone somewhere else. Their vote should be added there. Not everyone who has shifted has left the state,” Juli said, raising concerns over the logic used for mass deletions.

The Congress said it had raised objections to the SSR process from the outset. Dotasra had earlier claimed that preparations were underway to delete over 50 lakh voter names during the revision exercise. 

The draft SSR voter list was released on Tuesday, triggering fresh political reactions. 

The large-scale deletions have sparked widespread debate, with opposition leaders demanding greater transparency and accountability in the revision process, even as questions continue to be raised over the criteria used for excluding voters. 

--IANS

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