Hyderabad, Sept. 27: AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi has questioned the Election Commission’s decision-making process over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said he had opposed the SIR process from the beginning and raised concerns about the burden of documentation on poor voters.
Speaking to the media in Hyderabad, Owaisi said he believed the decision to conduct SIR was not appropriate, although the Supreme Court had upheld the Election Commission’s decision.
Owaisi questioned whether decisions relating to SIR were taken through a majority vote. He also asked the Election Commission to clarify what type of majority was used while taking such decisions.
His remarks came amid a controversy over reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several issues linked to the SIR process.
The Election Commission, however, has said that internal notes, queries and differing views are a normal part of its decision-making process. The poll panel has maintained that its official orders and decisions have followed legal procedures and that decisions relating to SIR were approved unanimously.
Asaduddin Owaisi Raises Concerns Over Poor Voters
Owaisi said poor and economically vulnerable people could face difficulties while arranging documents required during the SIR process.
He said people were being forced to visit government offices and spend money and time to obtain various certificates and documents. He questioned how financially weaker sections could manage the additional burden associated with the verification process.
The AIMIM chief also raised questions about the treatment of voters whose names may not appear in the final SIR electoral rolls.
He asked what would happen to the children and grandchildren of people whose names are missing from the final list. Owaisi questioned how such voters would establish their lineage if their parents’ or grandparents’ names were not available in the relevant electoral records.
He sought clarity on what documents or records such voters would be expected to use to establish their family links and qualify for inclusion.
Owaisi’s concerns come as the Election Commission continues the SIR exercise and addresses issues involving unmapped electors and logical discrepancies. The Commission said on September 26 that, where notices have been issued, Booth Level Officers will visit voters’ homes to collect documents and upload them through ECINet. It also said voters generally need not appear before Electoral Registration Officers for hearings, except in exceptional circumstances.
The Election Commission has also reiterated that the SIR exercise was approved unanimously by the full Commission and that the June 24, 2025 order initiating the exercise was later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Owaisi, meanwhile, has continued to question the process, particularly its impact on voters who may struggle to produce the required records and those facing difficulties in establishing links with earlier electoral rolls.
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