Owaisi slams SIR: 6.5 crore names deleted, fears permanent exclusion
Synopsis
Asaduddin Owaisi has escalated the SIR row, alleging 6.5 crore voter deletions across 13 states and UTs are the scaffolding for a ‘permanent class of excluded Indians’. With the Centre weighing a committee on identification and deportation, he warns the exercise disproportionately hits Muslims, women, the poor, and migrants — turning a roll revision into a citizenship gatekeeping debate.
Key Takeaways
Asaduddin Owaisi alleged SIR will create a ‘permanent class of excluded Indians’.
He claimed 6.5 crore names were deleted from electoral rolls across 13 states and UTs .
27 lakh cases remain under adjudication; affected voters can reapply via Form 6 .
Owaisi said most excluded are Muslims, women, the poor, and migrants.
He questioned the rationale citing India's stabilised demography and a TFR of 2.0 .
AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Wednesday alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being weaponised to create a ‘permanent class of excluded Indians’, claiming that 6.5 crore names have been struck off voter lists across 13 states and Union Territories. The Hyderabad MP made the charge in a post on X, targeting the Centre's reported move to set up a committee on identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants.
What Owaisi said
‘The Union Government first carried out a document-driven SIR that deleted nearly 6.5 crore names from electoral rolls across 13 States and UTs. Now it wants a committee to study those very exclusions and build a permanent system for the identification, detention, and deportation of illegal immigrants,’ Owaisi posted on X.
He added that ‘SIR will be used to create a permanent class of excluded Indians’, warning that ‘the right to vote is the poor's only weapon against the powerful’. The AIMIM chief also flagged reports of people being denied benefits under government welfare schemes following the deletions.
Citizenship and adjudication concerns
Owaisi argued that a deletion under SIR does not amount to a determination of non-citizenship. ‘Twenty-seven lakh people are still under adjudication, and many may apply afresh for enrolment as voters through Form 6,’ he wrote, adding that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not released data on how many were excluded specifically on grounds of being foreigners.
According to him, available data indicate that most of those excluded by SIR are Muslims, women, the poor, and migrants — a demographic skew he said deepens the policy's social cost.
Questioning the rationale
The AIMIM president questioned the need for a fresh committee given that ‘the government's own data show that our demography and population have stabilised and that our TFR is 2.0’. He alleged the exercise was designed ‘so that there can be constant paranoia and fear directed against Muslims’.
Owaisi also criticised what he described as a culture of excessive documentation. ‘This government loves making Indians waste their time on documentation. Sometimes it is KYC or SIR; sometimes it is uploading some document to some portal. But it cannot conduct a simple exam properly,’ he said, accusing the Centre of asymmetric scrutiny — citizens watched closely, government accountability resisted.
What's next
The Centre is yet to formally notify the proposed committee's terms of reference. Opposition parties have signalled they will press the ECI for state-wise breakups of SIR deletions and the share attributable to suspected foreign nationals. The debate is expected to spill into the next parliamentary session.
Point of View
State-wise data on who was deleted and why. The 6.5 crore figure, if uncontested, is politically combustible; the silence on foreigner-specific exclusions only widens the trust gap. The deeper question is whether India's electoral plumbing can withstand a parallel deportation architecture without the two bleeding into each other. Past NRC-CAA cycles suggest that boundary is harder to hold than the Centre admits.
NationPress
20 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls?
SIR is a document-driven exercise by the Election Commission of India to update voter lists, requiring proof to retain or add names. Owaisi has alleged that nearly 6.5 crore names were deleted across 13 states and Union Territories under the current round.
Why is Owaisi opposing the proposed Centre committee?
Owaisi argues the committee would use SIR exclusions to build a permanent system for identifying, detaining, and deporting alleged illegal immigrants. He warns this risks creating a permanent class of excluded Indians, disproportionately affecting Muslims, women, the poor, and migrants.
Does deletion under SIR mean loss of citizenship?
No. Owaisi has clarified that a deletion under SIR is not a determination of non-citizenship. About 27 lakh cases are still under adjudication, and affected persons can apply afresh for voter enrolment through Form 6.
What data has the Election Commission shared on the exclusions?
According to Owaisi, the ECI has not released figures on how many were excluded specifically as foreigners. Available data, he said, suggest the bulk of those struck off are Muslims, women, the poor, and migrants.
