“If names were removed, people would be on the streets”: RLM cheif Kushwaha questions Congress’s SIR Charge

Patna (Bihar) [India], November 23 (ANI): Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) chief Upendra Kushwaha on Saturday questioned the Congress party's decision to hold a December 14 rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) issue, stating that the matter "doesn't even exist" and arguing that if names had actually been removed from voter lists, "people would have come out on the streets."
Speaking to ANI, Kushwaha said, "There are many issues in the country that are connected to the people. If Congress raises those issues, it could benefit them in the future, but the SIR issue doesn't even exist. In Bihar, they (the opposition) are talking about the theft of people's votes; if people's names were removed from the voter list, people would come out on the streets, although nothing like that happened..."
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to conduct the second phase of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls across 12 states and Union Territories, with the final voter list scheduled to be published on February 7, 2026.
The first phase of the SIR was conducted in Bihar in September, ahead of the Assembly elections in the state.
The upcoming exercise will cover Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
According to the Election Commission, printing and training will be conducted from October 28 to November 3, followed by an enumeration phase from November 4 to December 4.
The Draft Electoral Rolls will be published on December 9, followed by a claims and objection period from December 9 to January 8, 2026.
The Notice Phase (for hearing and verification) will take place between December 9 and January 31, 2026, with publication of Final Electoral Rolls on February 7, 2026.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal announced that the party will hold the" Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod Maha Rally" on December 14 to "send a message across the nation" against the alleged "vote theft."
"The spectre of Vote Chori is the biggest danger looming over our democracy today. To send a message across the nation against these attempts to destroy our Constitution, the Congress will be holding the Vote Chor Gaddi Chhod Maha Rally on December 14th (1.30 pm onwards) at Ramlila Maidan, New Delhi," KC Venugopal said in a post on X.
He added that the rally would mark the Congress' fight to "reclaim Indian democracy from the clutches of the Vote Chors."
The Mahagathbandhan suffered a major defeat in the 2025 Bihar Assembly election, winning only 35 seats out of 243, while the NDA registered a landslide victory, securing 202 seats. This marks the second time the NDA has crossed the 200-seat mark in the Bihar Assembly, having earlier won 206 seats in 2010. (ANI)