New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi has sharply criticised the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) , claiming that the updated voter list exercise has turned into an oppressive, high-pressure campaign.

Citing reports that 16 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have died in three weeks due to stress, overwork, heart attacks and suicides, he alleged that SIR is “no reform but an imposed tyranny”.

What is the SIR and why is it being implemented?

The Special Intensive Revision is a voter roll overhaul conducted periodically by the Election Commission to clean up electoral lists by removing duplicate, dead or migrated voters, and updating entries.

The ongoing SIR has required BLOs across states to digitise and verify large volumes of voter data in a compressed timeframe. Accor

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