S. Y. Quraishi criticizes mass deletion of Indian voters

Former Chief Election Commissioner S. Y. Quraishi has criticized the deletion of voters from India’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, describing the process as “illogical, unreasonable, arbitrary and mischievous.” Quraishi claimed that approximately 15 percent of the population, or roughly 130 to 140 million people, have been removed from voter lists through what he termed an “artificial process.”

He asserted that about 90 percent of those deleted are eligible to vote and argued that the removal of valid voters is unconstitutional. Quraishi questioned why the process focuses heavily on deletions without accounting for in-migration, suggesting that the scale of out-migration alone does not justify such massive removals. He also expressed concern regarding the Supreme Court’s stance on the matter.

Additionally, Quraishi addressed political claims regarding illegal immigration and demographic shifts. He argued that many figures cited by political leaders lack official data or documentary evidence. He noted that official census trends actually show declining fertility rates across various religious groups due to improved education and living standards, rather than the uncontrolled growth suggested by some narratives.