Raj Thackeray demands scrapping of ‘illegal’ SIR drive, return to ballot papers
Mumbai, Oct 4 (IANS) The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) President Raj Thackeray on Sunday, during the ‘Garjana Morcha’ rally in Mumbai, issued a stern ultimatum to the Election Commission of India (ECI), and laid out two key demands — the immediate scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and the reintroduction of paper ballots for all future elections.
Addressing a sprawling crowd alongside other political leaders, Raj Thackeray launched a direct assault on the legality of the ongoing SIR process. Citing legal opinions previously voiced by former Union Home Secretary R.K. Singh, the MNS chief declared that carrying out a nationwide SIR drive without specific statutory backing was entirely illegal.
“A Special Intensive Revision can only be conducted under exceptional circumstances — such as natural disasters, floods, earthquakes, or massive population displacement — and even then, only for specific constituencies with written justifications,” Raj Thackeray asserted. “Executing a blanket nationwide SIR is illegal and has no provision in the law.”
Raj Thackeray pointed to severe discrepancies in voter tallies, alleging that while electoral rolls were artificially inflated during the Assembly elections, the current SIR drive has led to the purge of two crore voters across the country. “Who are these two crore citizens being removed from the rolls? Are they our voters? On what grounds are they being disenfranchised?” he questioned, urging all political parties to unite in demanding an immediate halt to the revision drive.
He emphasised the need to annul all ongoing Special Intensive Revision exercises, declaring them unconstitutional and unauthorised and abolish Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and return to physical ballot paper voting to restore public trust in democratic outcomes.
Questioning the mandate, Raj Thackeray remarked, “What kind of victory is this?” He observed that instead of post-election celebrations, there was an unnatural silence (‘sannata’) across Maharashtra despite the ruling Mahayuti coalition securing an overwhelming majority.
He recalled that he had been warning about EVM tampering and voter list discrepancies since 2017-2018. He revealed meeting top national opposition figures, including Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee, to raise these alarms, suggesting back then that a unified boycott of elections was the only way to expose the truth.
Raising serious objections over demographic jumps in the voter rolls, the MNS chief questioned how Maharashtra added 40 to 60 lakh voters within a short six-month window following the Lok Sabha elections.
He pointed out allegations that the BJP removed nearly two crore voters from the electoral rolls nationwide. Criticising the ECI, Raj Thackeray demanded accountability from CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging systemic voter roll manipulation during the 2024 General and Assembly elections.
Concluding his speech, Raj Thackeray argued that restoring paper ballots is the only way to ensure transparent, indisputable elections. “If these two demands are met, everything will be clear as day — ‘doodh ka doodh, paani ka paani’. After that, it doesn’t matter who wins or comes to power, because the mandate will be legitimate.”
The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray joined hands with Shiv Sena(UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray to lead the opposition’s “Garjana Morcha” against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The protest march, which moved from Metro Cinema to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) headquarters in South Mumbai, saw participation from major opposition parties, including Congress, NCP(Sharadchandra Pawar), and the Left parties.
The ‘Garjana Morcha’ marks a significant escalation in the opposition’s campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with calls for his resignation.
–IANS
sj/dpb
