Mallikarjun Kharge took a dig at the notices issued by the Election Commission to BJP leaders in Delhi as part of the SIR process. Kharge wrote on X on Monday that SIR is not only a tool for stealing votes and dismantling democracy.
Rather, it has become a Frankenstein monster (a character from a story) that has now trapped its own people.
In fact, the Election Commission has issued notices under SIR in Delhi to BJP leader L.K. Advani, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Election Commissioner S.S. Sandhu.
According to election officials, notices have been sent to 33.13 lakh voters because of discrepancies in the information provided in their Enumeration Forms.
Discrepancies found in the forms of more than 33 lakh voters
98-year-old Lal Krishna Advani, his daughter Pratibha and daughter-in-law Geetika have received notices because their names were not mapped from the 2002 SIR electoral roll. The mapping process for his son Jayant has been completed. All four are voters in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his wife, Kyoko Jaishankar, who are voters in the Sunहरी Bagh area of the New Delhi Assembly constituency, have also received notices stating the reason as “not mapped from the previous SIR”.
Former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Sudesh have also been served notices. The address recorded in their voter records is that of the Vice-President’s residence.
Election Commissioner S.S. Sandhu received a notice because of a discrepancy in his name, while a notice was issued to his son, Damanbir, because of discrepancies in his parents’ names. Both are voters in the Delhi Cantonment Assembly constituency.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has also been served a notice stating the reason as “not mapped from the previous SIR”.
These leaders also received notices
Former Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal and BJP leader Sudhanshu Mittal have also been sent notices. Kapil Sibal, a voter in the New Delhi Assembly constituency, received the notice because his records were not linked to the previous SIR.
Virendra Sachdeva said he received the notice because of an error related to his name. He said it would be rectified by submitting the necessary documents.
He said his wife’s and brother’s names were also on the list of people who received notices. He said the necessary corrections would be made.
Third phase of SIR in 16 states, including Delhi and Maharashtra
The Election Commission announced the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) on 14 May in 16 states and three Union Territories, including Haryana, Jharkhand, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Maharashtra. This is the third phase of the SIR.
The entire process will run from 30 May to 23 December. During this period, 36.73 crore voters are being verified. Among the states where the SIR will be conducted, Punjab, Uttarakhand and Manipur will hold Assembly elections next year. The other 13 states will hold elections in 2028 and 2029.
