New Delhi (ANI): Senior Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, contrasting his tenure with that of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi amid the row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
In a post on X, Ramesh recalled the Rajiv Gandhi government and described him as a Prime Minister who empowered the youth by amending Article 326 of the Constitution during the Winter Session in December 1988 to reduce the minimum voting age from 21 to 18 years.
He wrote, "This is a Tale of Two PMs. One PM got Parliament in its regular Winter Session in Dec 1988 to amend Article 326 of the Constitution to reduce the minimum age for voting from 21 years to 18 years. This was a PM who empowered the youth."
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ramesh alleged that the Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls had been stopped since 2024 and claimed that this was preventing eligible Gen Z voters from being enrolled.
"There is another PM who has ensured that the Special Summary Revisions of electoral rolls have been stopped since 2024 to ensure that Gen Z voters are not enrolled. This is a PM who fears the youth, having dashed their hopes and aspirations," he said.
Ramesh added, "One PM gave Gen Z the vote; the other is determined to snatch it away through underhanded means". His statement came amid the investigative report by the Indian Express, which stated that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had raised strong objections regarding discrepancies in the SIR process.
Earlier, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi questioned how standard anti-incumbency trends that have historically affected every political entity in India seem to mysteriously vanish for the ruling BJP.
"Indian elections, Lok Sabha Elections, 2024 elections, Vidhan Sabha Elections are all being rigged. The people on top of that list are who we call the conspirators. By the way, Mr Gyanesh Kumar, who is sitting there two election commissioners, two election commissioners are raising questions about that man. I have been raising questions; those questions were ignored. People of India believed it. But the institutional framework of India was not interested. But now, two election commissioners, by the way, chosen by the leadership. Gyanesh Kumar was chosen by the Prime Minister of India, not by anybody less. He was chosen by Amit Shah. And now two election commissioners are saying that Mr Gyanesh Kumar is responsible for the chaos, for the damage that has taken place to our voting system," he said.
Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have repeatedly targeted the ECI over SIR, alleging vote chori since the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.
