Shashi Tharoor Backs Rahul Gandhi’s SIR Debate Offer
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has challenged the BJP to reconvene Parliament for a debate on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and allegations of vote theft. Speaking on Friday, November 6, 2026, Tharoor said Rahul Gandhi’s offer to debate the government remained open and questioned the Election Commission’s handling of voter registration procedures under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Tharoor Challenges BJP to Reconvene Parliament
Tharoor pointed out that Parliament had not yet been prorogued and argued that the government could reconvene the House to discuss the opposition’s concerns.
His remarks followed Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s challenge to Rahul Gandhi during a rally in Karnal, Haryana, on Thursday.
Shah had asked Gandhi to present his allegations inside Parliament rather than pursue the dispute through public demonstrations.
Congress Questions Form 6 and Form 7 Procedures
Tharoor criticised the Election Commission’s decision to introduce an additional declaration linked to Form 6, which is used for voter registration.
He alleged that the changes lacked legal authorisation and questioned the Commission’s decision to permit bulk filing of Form 7 objections, which can be used to seek deletion of electoral entries.
The Congress MP claimed that these procedures had resulted in eligible citizens being denied voting rights. The allegations remain contested.
Tharoor Demands Reversal of Voter Deletions
Tharoor claimed that approximately 11.3 crore entries had been removed from electoral rolls during the revision exercise.
He welcomed the Election Commission’s decision to reverse certain procedural changes but demanded restoration of voting rights wherever eligible citizens had been wrongly excluded.
Tharoor also maintained that Supreme Court proceedings had supported several concerns raised by the opposition, although the court has not established all the allegations as proven.
The controversy continues as Congress demands greater electoral transparency while the BJP rejects allegations of systematic voter manipulation.
