Another freedom struggle: CM Revanth

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday described the campaign to protect voting rights as another freedom struggle, led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and INDIA bloc leaders. Addressing a meeting at Telangana Bhavan in Delhi as part of the “Vote Bachao… Desh Bachao” agitation, he recalled the Congress’s fight against British rule and said a similar struggle was now necessary to protect the constitutional right to vote. Invoking the historic “Simon Go Back” movement, Revanth Reddy called for campaigns under the slogans “Gyanesh Go Back” and “SIR Go Back”. 

He accused the Election Commission of India, headed by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, of conspiring to delete voters’ names through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were directing the exercise.

Paying tribute to freedom fighters Lala Lajpat Rai, Bhagat Singh, Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, he said the Constitution drafted by Dr B.R. Ambedkar had empowered citizens with voting rights, ensuring equality for the poor, Dalits, tribals and other sections.

He said earlier SIR exercises under Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee primarily sought to include eligible voters whose names were missing. The present exercise, he alleged, was being used to remove existing voters for political gain.

Revanth Reddy also criticised the 2023 changes to the election commissioners’ appointment process, under which the Union Home Minister replaced the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel. He alleged the change was intended to facilitate favourable decisions and recalled Rahul Gandhi’s objection to Gyanesh Kumar’s appointment.

The Chief Minister claimed the deletions particularly targeted Dalits, tribals, backward classes, poor people, youth and critics of the BJP. He questioned the silence of Modi and Shah, restrictions on protests and the heavy deployment of police in Delhi, alleging that the BJP stood to benefit from the revisions.

Citing voter numbers, he said India had about 81 crore voters in 2014, 91 crore in 2019 and 97 crore in 2024. He claimed 13 crore names had been deleted in 2026, with a target of 20 crore, questioning how voter numbers could decline despite population growth. He demanded answers from the Election Commission, the President and the Chief Justice.

Warning that the country risked creating two classes of citizens—those with voting rights and those without—Revanth Reddy urged people to join Rahul Gandhi’s campaign to safeguard democracy and constitutional rights.