New Delhi: As protests intensified across India over the Election Commission row, the Congress on Friday accused the poll panel of carrying out an “unprecedented attack” on voter equality by introducing a specific ‘Mark VIP’ feature in the BLO App.
The opposition party alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Kumar would not be spared for their “misdeeds”.
Congress media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said all decisions, including those related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), taken by Kumar were “null and void”.
“We are sure the Supreme Court is watching what is happening and will take the right steps at the right time,” he said at a press conference here.
Khera said an investigation by an English daily had revealed that, amid the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls, the Election Commission had introduced a specific ‘Mark VIP’ feature in the BLO App.
The feature allows Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to identify and mark certain electors as VIPs during the verification process, he said.
The Apple App Store records the update as “Mark VIP elector-related changes”. The app’s version history shows the feature was added in an August 4 update, following a July 30 app update.
“What sort of VIP culture is this?” Khera asked.
“PM Modi repeatedly projected himself as the pradhan sevak and claimed that his government had ended VIP culture. Under whose instructions then is the Election Commission operating a system that distinguishes between VIP voters and ordinary voters?” he said.
Khera questioned why the Election Commission was segregating Indian voters and on what grounds.
Citing media reports, he claimed that election officials had been directed to identify ministers and their families, celebrities, judges, advocates, bureaucrats, including IAS and IPS officers, media persons, social workers and others as VIPs.
He said those issued notices in Delhi included former deputy prime minister L K Advani, former vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Election Commissioner S S Sandhu, former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, CBI Director Praveen Sood, former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung, among others.
Earlier, former Navy chief and Vir Chakra awardee Admiral Arun Prakash and his wife were also served notices during the SIR in Goa, he said.
Even Bharat Ratna awardee Professor C N R Rao appeared on the SIR discrepancy list over a name mismatch, Khera claimed.
“Is it merely a coincidence that after SIR began generating embarrassing headlines involving senior BJP leaders, constitutional functionaries, ministers, former service chiefs and other eminent citizens, a mechanism to specifically ‘Mark VIP’ electors has now surfaced?” he asked.
Democracy rests on the principle of one person, one vote and one value, and there cannot be one electoral process for the powerful and another for ordinary citizens, he argued.
“There cannot be one queue for the common voter and a VIP fast lane for the privileged. There cannot be an SIR for ordinary Indians and a special facilitation mechanism for VIPs,” he said.
“We want to say to Gyanesh Kumar, it’s done bro. Heed Rahul Gandhi’s advice – resign and turn approver,” Khera said, adding that if Kumar did not do so, he should be ready to face trial.
Neither PM Modi, Shah nor Kumar would be spared, he said.
Khera asked the Election Commission to clarify who ordered the segregation of Indian voters.
"This unprecedented attack on voter equality, which is against the Constitution of India, could not have taken place without the go-ahead of the BJP-RSS and the Modi government. Was the view of the two election commissioners also taken in passing the order?
“What is the statutory authority for distinguishing between VIP and ordinary electors?” he asked.
He also questioned what exactly a VIP voter gets that an ordinary voter does not.
"Can VIP electors be included without submitting enumeration forms? Are their documents collected at home?
“Are their cases processed first? Are they exempted from appearing at hearing centres? Publish the complete protocol for VIP and marked electors,” he said.
The controversy follows reports that the ECI added the ‘Mark VIP’ feature to the BLO App during the ongoing SIR. According to Hindustan Times, the feature was introduced in July and was live in Delhi and Haryana, while BLOs in West Bengal said it was not part of the app during the state’s SIR in 2025.
However, the ECI’s electoral-roll framework has provided for identifying “marked electors” since at least 2018, with the category covering MPs, MLAs and MLCs, holders of certain declared offices and prominent personalities from fields including arts, culture, journalism and sports, as well as members of the judiciary and public services.
