Rahul Gandhi vows to continue opposition campaign over voter roll revision

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has vowed to continue the opposition INDIA bloc's campaign to restore democracy in India, but declined to disclose its next move over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Speaking at a joint press briefing in New Delhi after high tea with INDIA bloc leaders at his official residence, Rahul today (13 October) said the opposition would sustain its political resistance with the same energy, strength, and unity it showed during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

He said revealing the alliance's strategy at this stage would spoil the element of surprise.

"Sooner or later, whether tomorrow, the day after, in three months, six months, a year, or two years, it [protests] will not stop. It will reach the end goal," Rahul told reporters.

He added that the judiciary had a role to play and expressed hope that it would fulfil that role, but said political and public resistance would continue regardless of the actions of institutions.

Rahul's remarks came a day after he and 10 other opposition leaders filed a petition in the Supreme Court over the SIR exercise, naming the Election Commission (EC), Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents.

The opposition has criticised the electoral roll revision process following a report by The Indian Express last month that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over the previous 10 months to decisions they said were taken without their knowledge, including those related to the SIR.

The EC responded that differences were common in multi-member institutions and maintained that the three commissioners ultimately took all decisions unanimously.

Responding to Rahul, Indian Home Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Amit Shah accused the Congress leader of attributing the electoral performance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP to the SIR instead of reflecting on the party's own record.

"Is this the result of an 'SIR'? You need to introspect," Shah said at a press conference.

Shah cited Congress's failure to win elections in a major state where it had previously governed, saying the party had not won an election there in 41 years. He also referred to by-elections in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, claiming Congress had not won a seat in the three states.

He also cited BJP victories in Assam's Nagaon Lok Sabha by-election and in West Bengal's Nandigram and Rejinagar constituencies, with margins of 1.42 lakh, 1.22 lakh, and more than 75,000 votes, respectively.