According to Kavya, the system is designed to scrutinise cases where voters are marked as deceased, shifted or otherwise ineligible. Once a deletion is flagged, local volunteers verify the claim through field visits and community networks before reporting back.
“We have integrated technology with grassroots verification. Every BLA receives information about proposed deletions, and a mechanism immediately swings into action to verify whether the deletion is justified,” she said.
Warning that the issue goes beyond electoral arithmetic, Kavya said public faith in the electoral process itself was at stake.
“Earlier there was vote chori; now there is imaan chori. People’s faith in the electoral process is at stake. We want citizens to remain alert and participate in safeguarding their democratic rights,” she added.
The Congress’s intervention reflects a broader strategy being adopted by Opposition party in states where the SIR is being rolled out, with a greater emphasis on booth-level vigilance and real-time monitoring of voter deletions.
For the Congress, the exercise is as much about protecting the integrity of the voter list as it is about guarding against what it sees as the possibility of politically motivated exclusions.
Telangana is among the states covered under Phase III of the nationwide SIR exercise, which spans 16 states and three Union Territories. Last month, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the exercise, observing that the ECI was acting within its constitutional mandate under Article 324 and the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
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