The Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) on Tuesday, 6 October sharply escalated its attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, warning of a mass public uprising over what it called the arbitrary stripping of voting rights through the Special Information Revision (SIR) process. The broadside came through the party's mouthpiece, Saamana, which defended the opposition rally held the previous Sunday in Mumbai by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and allied democratic groups.

BJP's Dismissal and the Thackeray Counter

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had dismissed the MVA rally as a desperate bid to find political relevance, while state Minister Ashish Shelar labelled the protest 'cheap politics' and its demands 'howling.' The Thackeray camp's editorial fired back, calling these remarks an insult to the public and accusing the BJP of relying on a 'corrupt Election Commission' to hold on to power.

The editorial warned that popular anger, once united, carries transformative force. 'When 5 to 10 lakh people cry together out of anguish, it creates an upheaval powerful enough to overthrow tyrannical rule. Out of that whining, the wild fires of rebellion ignite,' the Saamana editorial stated.

The SIR Controversy: Scale and Legal Concerns

At the heart of the dispute is the SIR process, which the Thackeray camp alleges has resulted in nearly 13 crore voters across India — including over 2 crore in Maharashtra alone — being arbitrarily removed from electoral rolls without prior notice or a fair hearing.

The editorial cited Supreme Court Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, who reportedly observed that any arbitrary procedure depriving citizens of the right to vote violates the constitutional framework. Justice Bhuyan, according to the editorial, likened the deletion of a voter's name to 'separating the soul from the body,' emphasising that names of living voters cannot be removed without due process and advance notice.

Former Home Secretary's Critique Cited

Saamana also referenced former Union Home Secretary and ex-BJP Minister R.K. Singh, who has publicly declared the nationwide SIR drive unlawful. Singh reportedly stated that removing voters without proper inquiry or hearings directly violates Section 22 of the Representation of the People Act.

The editorial pressed the point sharply: 'If an experienced administrative officer and a Supreme Court Judge both call this process arbitrary and illegal, will the BJP call their observations 'howling' as well?' It demanded that Fadnavis and his colleagues publicly clarify their position on Singh's remarks.

Core Demands of the Protesters

The editorial reiterated the three central demands raised by marchers who took to the streets of Mumbai over the weekend: the immediate revocation of the SIR process, the scrapping of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), and a return to paper ballots. These demands have been at the core of the MVA's election integrity campaign since the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election results.

Sharp Personal Jabs and a Final Warning

The editorial did not hold back on personal attacks, suggesting — in a satirical vein — that 'playwrights influenced by the RSS should write a new drama titled Puppies of the Jackal,' a reference directed at leaders like Fadnavis and Shelar. Closing on a defiant note, Saamana warned the ruling dispensation that 'when millions of citizens unite against injustice with the national flag in hand, it sparks a rebellion capable of dethroning authoritarian regimes.'

With the SIR process still under legal scrutiny and opposition pressure intensifying, the political battle over electoral rolls is unlikely to ease in the weeks ahead.