Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi said clean and accurate electoral rolls were central to free and fair elections. He said the SIR exercise must be implemented fairly and with due diligence so that legitimate voters were not wrongly excluded.
Amid Opposition protests, Odisha CM Mohan Charan Majhi has defended the SIR exercise.
Bhubaneswar,Oct 12, 2026 13:59 IST
Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Monday defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, calling it necessary to protect voters' rights and maintain confidence in the electoral process.
His remarks came as opposition parties demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the cancellation of the entire exercise, alleging that around 13 crore eligible voters had been deleted from the rolls.
In a social media post made hours before the opposition's protest march in Delhi, Majhi said clean and accurate electoral rolls were central to free and fair elections. He said the exercise must be implemented fairly and with due diligence so that legitimate voters were not wrongly excluded.
"SIR is a necessary and constructive exercise to uphold the integrity of our electoral system. Its effective implementation, with fairness and due diligence, will help ensure that electoral records remain reliable and that the democratic process commands the confidence it deserves," he said.
"The credibility of a democracy rests on free and fair elections and the protection of every eligible citizen's right to vote. Clean and accurate electoral rolls are fundamental to this trust," he added.
Majhi said duplicate entries, outdated records and the names of deceased persons remaining on electoral rolls could undermine their accuracy.
He said maintaining reliable voter lists was not merely an administrative necessity but essential to safeguarding electoral integrity and public confidence in democracy.
He said the SIR helped identify discrepancies, remove duplicate entries, update records following deaths or changes in residence, and ensure that electoral rolls accurately reflected eligible voters. At the same time, he said the process must protect legitimate voters from wrongful exclusion.
"These are not minor administrative details; they go to the heart of electoral fairness, equal representation and the sanctity of every vote," Majhi said, reiterating that the exercise should keep voter rolls accurate while protecting voting rights.
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