Bihar SIR SC Hearing On: Rahul Alleges ‘Countless Vote Thefts’, Malviya Replies, ‘Say It On Oath’

Last Updated:August 12, 2025, 15:15 IST

Bihar SIR Row: The SC began its special hearing into the case, with Justice Surya Kant saying the EC was correct in saying that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as a conclusive proof

Rahul Gandhi (left) and Amit Malviya. (File)

A day after the massive stir by Opposition MPs, the politics over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) continued to rage on Tuesday. While Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha reiterated his stance that the EC was not enforcing “one man, one vote" mentioned in the Constitution, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) IT cell chief and spokesperson Amit Malviya questioned why Gandhi wasn’t submitting his allegations to the EC on an oath.

The Supreme Court, meanwhile, began its special hearing into the case, with Justice Surya Kant saying the EC was correct in saying that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as a conclusive proof, it has to be verified.

‘Picture abhi baaki hai’: What Rahul Gandhi said on Tuesday

Gandhi last week launched a campaign against what he called “vote chori" by the EC in collusion with the BJP. He gave several examples to substantiate his allegations that votes are being stolen, there are duplicate voters, those with fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters or single address voters, voters with invalid photos and those misusing Form 6 of new voters. He alleged it was institutionalised theft and that SIR would lead to the disenfranchisement of large numbers of citizens, particularly vulnerable groups like minorities, who might struggle to produce the strict documentation required.

When asked about the 124-year-old voter Minta Devi on Bihar’s voters’ list’ on Tuesday, he said, “This is not just one seat, there are lots of seats. It is being done on the national level, systematically. The Election Commission knows it, we know it. We are protecting the Constitution. The Election Commission is not doing its duty of enforcing ‘One Man, One Vote’ which is the foundation of the Constitution. There are countless cases like Minta Devi. We are only protecting the Constitution. We will keep doing it. There are unlimited cases. We won’t stop. Picture abhi baaki hai."

‘Rahul Gandhi is scared’: What Amit Malviya said on Tuesday

The chief electoral officers of several states, including Karnataka, refuted the claims, asking the Opposition leader to file it with details of electors included or excluded in the list.

The Election Commission has been asking Gandhi to sign an oath under its rules to substantiate his claims or issue an apology for the allegations levelled by him against the constitutional body.

Gandhi has been asked to declare, “I am not/ I am an elector of the said constituency, I have personal knowledge relevant to this case and am making this statement voluntarily."

The Congress and Gandhi have been refusing to file the claims on oath saying it is the EC data that they are quoting.

Malviya on Tuesday wrote on X: “Why is Rahul Gandhi dodging making a representation to the Election Commission on oath? Because he knows— False declaration → Punishable under Sec 31, RP Act 1950 False evidence → Punishable under Sec 227, BNS 2023 Both mean imprisonment! Reprimanded by the Supreme Court for false statements in the past, habitual offender Rahul Gandhi is clearly scared and does not believe in his own so-called investigation."

Monday drama, Tuesday T-shirts

Monday saw high drama with Opposition MPs, including Leaders of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, marched from Parliament House to the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) headquarters in New Delhi. The Delhi Police halted the protest march with barricades near Transport Bhawan, a few metres from the Parliament complex, and detained the MPs. Congress MP K Suresh on Tuesday said the INDIA bloc’s protest to the Election Commission has made a strong impact across the country.

Several Opposition MPs arrived wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan ‘124 Not Out’.

Prominent leaders such as Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar), MP Supriya Sule, and DMK MP Kanimozhi were seen holding onions during the protest.

‘Be ready with facts and figures’: The SC hearing

The Supreme Court on Tuesday commenced hearing a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission’s decision to conduct special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in poll-bound Bihar.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi began hearing senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for RJD leader Manoj Jha, arguing while in one constituency the poll panel claimed 12 people were dead, they were found alive whereas in another instance alive persons were declared dead.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, said the exercise of such a nature was “bound to have some defects here and there" and to claim that dead persons were declared alive and alive as dead could always be corrected as it was only a draft roll.

The bench told the poll panel to “be ready" with facts and figures for it would be question over the number of voters before the exercise commenced; number of dead before and now aside from other relevant details.

On July 29, terming the election commission a constitutional authority deemed to act in accordance with law, the top court said it will step in immediately if there is “mass exclusion" in the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.

The draft roll was published on August 1 and the final roll is scheduled to be published on September 30 amid opposition claims that the ongoing exercise will deprive crores of eligible citizens from their right to vote.

On July 10, the top court asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards as valid documents as it allowed the poll panel to continue with its exercise in Bihar.

With Agency Inputs

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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d...

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August 12, 2025, 15:15 IST

News india Bihar SIR SC Hearing On: Rahul Alleges ‘Countless Vote Thefts’, Malviya Replies, ‘Say It On Oath’

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