NEW DELHI: Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi on Sunday criticised the Election Commission over its special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, claiming that the exercise had effectively removed around 14-15 crore people from the country’s voter lists.Speaking to news agency ANI, Quraishi urged the poll panel to disclose the number of voters deleted, describing the exercise as a “great success” in achieving something the National Population Commission could not.“I would like to compliment the Election Commission for completing a very difficult mission of eliminating about 14-15 crore population of India through this exercise. I don’t know how many illegal immigrants they have found, which was the main purpose of this exercise. It’s a pity they have not disclosed this figure,” Quraishi said.“I would request them to please come out with this figure, so that we know what a great success you have been, and also that you have achieved something that the National Population Commission could not do. You have contributed a lot to population control by eliminating about 15% of India’s population,” he added.Quraishi also questioned the intent behind the SIR exercise, arguing that voting is a constitutional right and not something to be granted by the Election Commission.“I think the entire SIR exercise is not well-intentioned. The way it has deleted crores of voters is tinkering with democracy. You are a citizen of India. I’m a citizen of India. Voting is our constitutional right,” he said.“Article 326 says that everyone shall be registered. So it is not a charity from the Election Commission that they will give you that,” he added.The Election Commission is conducting the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in several states to ensure that voter lists are accurate, updated and free of ineligible or duplicate entries, while ensuring that no eligible voter is left out.The nationwide SIR was announced in October 2025 by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The poll panel cited migration, voters being registered at multiple places, failure to remove deceased voters and the inclusion of foreign nationals in electoral rolls as factors behind the exercise.
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The revision has since been rolled out across several states and Union territories, including those heading into elections. The exercise has drawn sustained criticism from opposition parties.In Maharashtra, the SIR came under scrutiny after the draft electoral roll showed around two crore fewer voters than the previous roll.According to data released by Maharashtra’s Chief Electoral Officer, 7,71,65,562 of the state’s 9,78,54,049 electors had submitted their enumeration forms as of August 17.
