Congress flags SIR concerns in Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress has expressed several concerns regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision process in the state and sought extension of one-month deadline for document submission and verification.

Under the second phase of SIR, enumeration forms are being distributed in 12 States and Union Territories, including Chhattisgarh. Earlier this year, the first phase of the exercise was conducted in Bihar and faced harsh criticism.

Addressing a press conference in Raipur on Monday (November 10, 2025), senior Congress leaders highlighted the demand for transparency by voicing concerns of non-National Democratic Alliance parties in Bihar and also listed paddy harvest as a major local factor making the one-month deadline “inadequate”. They also questioned how the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party spoke on behalf of the Election Commission and answered questions posed to the poll panel.

“SIR work should be done with the right intention; its aim should be to add as many voters as possible, not to delete them. SIR should be entirely the job of the EC, it should not reflect the agenda of the government or a particular party. There should be no attempt to delete votes by applying filters in a particular pattern for the political benefit of the ruling party. Since SIR is the job of the EC, if any question or problem arises in the process, it is the duty of the Commission to resolve and respond. In what capacity is SIR BJP responding?” said former Minister and convener of Congress SIR Monitoring Committee’s Chhattisgarh Mohan Markam meeting.

Former State Congress president and SIR committee co-convener Dhanendra Sahu said the state is currently in the middle of the paddy harvest season, after which farmers will have to take their paddy to farming communities to sell their produce, making the extension necessary.

“In a state like Chhattisgarh, where there is sufficient time for elections, the preferred time frame is three months. Therefore, this period needs to be extended to three months so that no one is left out,” Mr. Sahu said.

Dissenting voices were also raised from other parts of the state. Bastariya Raj Morcha convenor and former MLA Manish Kunjam, who lives in Bastar, termed the move as disastrous and warned that it could potentially disenfranchise thousands of people.

He said a survey was “out of the question” when governance and administration had not yet reached the remote areas of Gollapally, Kistaram and Maad in Konta (inner Bastar). He said that even today, most villagers only have a forest rights patta (deed issued under the Forest Rights Act) as their only document, while others are deprived of even this.

In a statement issued by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, it said that uneducated and displaced people living in forests, especially in tribal-dominated areas of Chhattisgarh – those who do not have the necessary documents or whose addresses have changed – face the risk of being left largely deprived in the process.