New Delhi, October 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of undermining public trust by allegedly withholding searchable electoral rolls from political parties for eight years. He claimed the poll body’s recent decision to provide voter lists in a searchable format came after sustained pressure from the Opposition over allegations of “vote chori”.
In a post on X, Ramesh said the Congress and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly demanded searchable electoral rolls over the past two years, but the ECI had consistently rejected their requests.
“The demand was repeatedly refused by the ECI — which stopped providing searchable voter rolls in 2018 when the Congress found lakhs of bogus voters in Madhya Pradesh. The demand was denied for 8 years to enable Vote Chori,” Ramesh said.
He further stated that the ECI issued an order on October 15 allowing political parties to access electoral rolls in searchable format for the Special Summary Revision (SSR), which has resumed after a gap of two years in 17 states and Union Territories.
“This is because the whole nation is on the streets against the Vote Chors,” he said.
Ramesh alleged that the government and the poll body had repeatedly changed their approach whenever claims of electoral irregularities surfaced.
“Every time Vote Chori is caught, the Modi Govt adopts a new tactic: stopping readable voter rolls, fake voter additions, SIR. But not this time,” he said.
Escalating his criticism of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, Ramesh demanded his resignation and called for a comprehensive overhaul of the poll body and its information technology systems.
“Nothing can save the CEC Gyanesh Kumar who, acting on the instructions of the PM and the HM, has destroyed public trust and confidence in the ECI. He simply has to go. But that alone will not be enough. The ECI itself along with its IT system has to be thoroughly revamped. The SIR, that has put the Constitutional right to vote for over 13 crore Indians at risk, has to be suspended forthwith,” he added.
The Congress, along with other Opposition parties, has been protesting against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and questioning the Election Commission’s functioning.
Opposition leaders have argued that the exercise could put eligible voters’ rights at risk, while the poll body has maintained that the revision process is intended to update electoral rolls.
The controversy has also prompted protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, with INDIA bloc leaders demanding his resignation.
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