Twenty-three Opposition parties and Independent MP Kapil Sibal on Tuesday wrote to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, raising concerns over the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and other election-related issues.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the decision to approach the Chief Justice was taken at the INDIA Janbandhan meeting held on June 8, which was attended by 21 political parties and one Independent member.
He said the letter, now signed by 23 political parties and one Independent MP, had been sent to the Chief Justice.
"The Opposition parties remain firmly anchored in SURE—Solidarity, Unity and Resistance," Ramesh said in a post on X.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the DMK had also joined the initiative and signed the letter.
Their participation is significant as both parties had recently stayed away from or distanced themselves from some INDIA bloc meetings following differences with the Congress.
TMC MP Sagarika Ghose said the Opposition had approached the judiciary over "the manner in which the SIR process is being manipulated by the BJP."
According to sources, the letter also raises concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission.
The Congress and several other Opposition parties have questioned the SIR exercise, alleging that the voter roll revision process could disenfranchise eligible voters.
The revision has now completed one year and is underway across 19 states and Union Territories.
According to Election Commission data, the exercise has resulted in the deletion of nearly six crore names from electoral rolls, including more than 5.18 crore during the second phase alone.
The Election Commission says the exercise is intended to ensure that only eligible voters remain on the electoral rolls. Opposition parties, however, have described it as a "backdoor NRC", alleging that legitimate voters are being removed through arbitrary deletions and documentation-related issues.