New york: UN Special representatives have issued an open letter to Indian government seeking explanation from Indian government for removing name of millions of Muslim from voters list.
Three special representatives of UN have issued a formal letter to Indian government on removing name of millions of Muslim from electoral lists. UN has sought comprehensive reply from Indian government on these allegations in regard to voters lists.
UN has sought detailed data of the voters whose name have been removed on religious or racial basis. UN has said allegations of expunging 91 lac name from electoral lists in West Bengal have come to light.
The communication, dated May 1, 2026, was sent by the UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.
Under UN procedures, the government was given 60 days to respond before the communication was made public. The UN experts said they were concerned about what they described as the 'large-scale removal of millions of names from electoral rolls through an SIR process led by the ECI, particularly affecting members of minority groups'.
The UN experts said they were concerned about what they described as the 'large-scale removal of millions of names from electoral rolls through an SIR process led by the ECI, particularly affecting members of minority groups'.
The communication highlighted allegations that the voter revision process relied on opaque AI-assisted systems, provided insufficient time for voters to submit documents, lacked effective appeal mechanisms, and used minor discrepancies, such as spelling differences, as grounds for deleting names from electoral rolls.
The experts said they were particularly concerned by reports that eligible voters may have been wrongfully excluded from participating in elections. The letter referred to reports from West Bengal, where it claimed Muslim voters were disproportionately affected.
It cited allegations that in Nandigram constituency, around 95 per cent of deleted voters were Muslims, despite Muslims constituting only about 25 per cent of the electorate.
The communication also referred to concerns raised during the SIR exercise in Bihar, where reports suggested the process could lead to large-scale disenfranchisement of Muslims and other minorities. It further noted allegations that an AI-driven system was used to identify irregularities in voter data, raising concerns about transparency, errors, and potential bias.