The Congress on Thursday (April 30, 2026) said the right to vote was “under threat” and should be made a fundamental right, even as it dismissed exit polls as a “racket” lacking credibility and transparency.

Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh said the time had come to accord voting the status of a justiciable right. 

Mr. Ramesh also criticised the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that it had become “compromised” under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and reiterated the Opposition’s demand for his removal.

“The right to vote is a statutory right, not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable. The time has come to include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens,” he said.

Recalling debates in the Constituent Assembly, he said Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, who headed the Drafting Committee, and Jagjivan Ram had warned that governments in the future might attempt to disenfranchise voters. 

“Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right,” he added.

Slamming the process of special intensive revision (SIR), Mr. Ramesh alleged irregularities in electoral rolls, claiming that large numbers of voters’ names had been deleted in some States.

“The grandson of Nandalal Bose, whose illustrations adorn the original Constitution of India, could not vote,” the Congress leader said.

On exit polls, Mr. Ramesh said he had “no faith” in them, calling them a “racket”. “Nobody knows who is conducting these surveys or what their sample base is,” he said, citing the 2021 West Bengal Assembly election as an example where projections went wrong. 

On a day when Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on a visit to Ladakh, Mr. Ramesh said the people of Ladakh continued to await a clear road map on their key demands, including Statehood with a legislature and safeguards under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. 

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi also shared a video of his interaction with a delegation from Ladakh on his social media handle.

“The youth of Ladakh told me how their beautiful homeland has been turned into a police state. Their voices have been suppressed; democratic rights have been crushed, and their land and fragile environment are being handed over to Modi ji’s billionaire friends,” Mr. Gandhi said in a post on X.