“The conspiracy runs very deep – take your time to understand it. Under the guise of SIR, millions of names are being struck off voter lists, if not stopped, even more will be removed. Whose names are being targeted the most? Those who are furious with the BJP,” he said.
Rahul Gandhi also questioned the independence of the Election Commission, alleging that electoral rolls were effectively under the control of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom he accused of colluding with the BJP. He claimed that the Congress had evidence of alleged irregularities in the electoral process.
The Congress leader further alleged that the proposed system could make electoral identity a determining factor in accessing government welfare schemes, potentially putting the entitlements of people whose names are removed from voter lists at risk.
Warning of the wider implications, Rahul Gandhi said that people could lose access to welfare benefits simply because their names were deleted from electoral rolls.
“Name struck – vote gone. Vote gone – rights gone,” he said, arguing that the move could turn citizens into what he described as “invisible citizens” in a democracy.
He also raised concerns about whether the proposed requirement could eventually extend beyond Panchayati Raj schemes to other welfare programmes, including ration distribution, pensions, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), housing assistance, scholarships and reservations.
“Voting is your right, not a condition. A poor person’s pension cannot be enslaved to their voter card. This isn’t just vote theft – it’s rights theft. We won’t let this happen,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Rahul Gandhi’s remarks came a day after the Congress criticised the Centre over statements made by Union Panchayati Raj Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh, popularly known as Lalan Singh.
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