Opposition raises SIR concerns in Gujarat Assembly debate; Speaker allows limited discussion on exercise

Opposition raises concerns over electoral roll irregularities in Gujarat Assembly, prompting limited discussion on the special revision exercise.

Congress and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs on Saturday (February 28, 2026) raised concerns in the Gujarat Assembly over alleged irregularities in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, including deletion of voters’ names.

During a discussion in the State Assembly on an appropriation Bill authorising expenditure incurred in this fiscal for voter list revision, the Opposition flagged complaints about large numbers of Form 7 applications, meant for deletion of names from voter lists, being filed across constituencies without the knowledge of voters concerned.

The debate began after the BJP government sought passage of an appropriation Bill to regularise expenditure incurred on SIR-related work in the State.

While Speaker Shankar Chaudhary had already allowed two Congress MLAs and one AAP legislator to speak on the Bill, Gujarat Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia raised a point of order contending that matters pertaining to Election Commission of India (EC) cannot be discussed in the State Assembly.

Citing Article 324 of the Constitution, he said the EC is an autonomous constitutional body responsible for conducting Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections and that the State government has no authority to interfere in its processes, including voter list preparation or revision.

He argued that while state machinery performs election-related tasks, it does so strictly under the control of ECI as per Representation of the People Act.