New Delhi, Dec 14: Congress MP Saptagiri Ulaka on Sunday claimed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise is aimed at deleting poor, backward, Dalit voters and long-standing Congress supporters from electoral rolls.

Speaking ahead of the Congress rally against SIR at Ramlila Maidan, Ulaka said the party’s struggle against what it calls “vote theft” has moved from Parliament to the streets. He noted that Rahul Gandhi had also undertaken a foot march in Bihar over the issue and that the opposition had compelled the government to hold discussions on it.

Ulaka alleged that SIR is being used to target voters from disadvantaged sections and supporters of the Congress and the INDIA alliance in order to secure an electoral advantage, adding that this was the reason for the protest rally.

Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu accused the BJP government of undermining democracy.

He alleged that the ruling party was engaging in systematic vote theft and said Rahul Gandhi had exposed alleged irregularities by presenting detailed information about voters and polling booths across states to the public and the media.

Lallu further claimed that the BJP was attempting to dismantle democratic institutions and steer the country towards authoritarianism.