Congress MP and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Sunday launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that the exercise has created unbearable pressure on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and has even led to multiple deaths. Calling the revision drive an “imposed oppression”, Gandhi accused the government of using the process as a tool to exhaust genuine voters and shield those involved in voter fraud.

In a lengthy post in Hindi on X, Gandhi described the SIR as a “conspiracy” aimed at destabilising democratic norms. He said the revision process has plunged the entire system into confusion and claimed that several BLOs have died due to work-related stress.

“The result? Sixteen BLOs have lost their lives in three weeks. Heart attacks, stress, suicide — SIR is not a reform, it is an imposed oppression,” he wrote, adding that India, which builds advanced digital systems for the world, has been forced into “a jungle of paperwork” by the Election Commission.

Taking a direct swipe at the poll body, Gandhi said, “If the intentions were clear, the list would be digital, searchable, and machine-readable, and the ECI would have taken its time to focus on transparency and accountability instead of rushing through the work in a 30-day hurry.” He further alleged that “SIR is a deliberate ploy under which citizens are being harassed and deaths of BLOs due to unnecessary pressure are being ignored as ‘collateral damage’.”

His remarks come at a time when reports from multiple states have highlighted alleged suicides and sudden deaths of BLOs during the ongoing verification process. On Saturday, a woman BLO was found dead at her home in Nadia district of West Bengal. Her family claimed she died by suicide due to the intense workload imposed by SIR. Earlier, two BLOs in Madhya Pradesh’s Raisen and Damoh districts died of “illness”, which colleagues attribute to extreme work pressure.