At the time of writing on 2 October, Gandhi Jayanti, India was enacting a new civil disobedience movement. It couldn’t have chosen a better day. The trending hashtag #JantarMantarSatyagraha was doing more than marking the moment demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar — to us it appeared Indians were ushering in a new freedom movement.

As over 700 protestors, including independent journalists, activists, students and Opposition leaders were detained across different police stations in Delhi; as thousands gathered in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park under tight police security, singing ‘Gyanu utha le jhola’ — it became clear the impeachment has already begun... on the streets. Lest we forget that the demand for the CEC’s resignation is only a beginning, here’s a ‘dimagi Naxal’ questionnaire for our freedom fighters.

Why must we return to the 2024 voter rolls and not the pre-SIR baseline list?

The electoral rolls used in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections remain the last nationally uncontested and judicially accepted list. Since then, the rolls have undergone largescale revisions, especially after the SIR was rolled out in June 2025.

Allegations of disputed numbers and unexplained additions and deletions have come in thick and fast. Reports from constituencies in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Haryana highlight massive irregularities: tens of thousands of duplicate voters, fake or invalid addresses, implausible voter ages and improbable voter additions — often exceeding the normal growth in voters over five years, compressed into six months.

In August, September and November last year Rahul Gandhi, the Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition, exposed discrepancies, additions and deletions through sleight of hand and outright manipulation of electoral rolls in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana.

Also Read: SIR and the presumption of guilt in New India

Election rolls typically evolve gradually, reflecting births, deaths, migration and corrections. The sudden spike in additions and deletions without adequate public notice or hearing violates basic principles of transparency and fairness. Significantly, the SIR uniquely shifted the burden of proof to the citizens to prove their eligibility, contrary to established norms where authorities must justify exclusions.

The case for returning to the 2024 voter rolls is not because they were perfect, but because they are the last universally........

© National Herald