NEW DELHI:
A political controversy erupted over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after reports that two Election Commissioners had repeatedly raised objections to decisions taken during the exercise. Opposition parties have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while the Election Commission said differing views are a normal part of institutional deliberations.
The controversy followed a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over a 10-month period to decisions and orders which they said had been issued without their knowledge. The objections reportedly covered aspects of the SIR exercise, including voter additions and deletions, restoration of names and changes to Form 6.
The Election Commission, however, said written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks were part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body. It said every officer was authorised to offer suggestions for improving the electoral system and that all official orders and decisions carried legal sanction. The EC also said the suggestions raised by the Commissioners were intended to improve the electoral process.
Opposition parties stepped up their criticism following the reports. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi described the controversy as “Gyaneshgate” and alleged that the BJP, RSS and Election Commission were involved in “vote chori”. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge referred to an earlier notice submitted by Opposition MPs seeking Kumar’s removal and questioned whether the pending motion would be taken up by the Rajya Sabha Chairman.
TMC, Samajwadi Party, CPI(M), AAP, DMK and other Opposition parties also demanded action against the CEC and questioned the conduct of the SIR exercise. Some leaders called for a halt to the revision process, while others sought legal action and fresh elections based on electoral rolls prepared before the SIR. These are political demands and allegations and have not been established as findings against the Election Commission.
Former Chief Election Commissioners O P Rawat and S Y Quraishi also commented on the controversy. Rawat questioned the manner in which changes to statutory Form 6 were introduced, while Quraishi raised questions about elections being conducted on electoral rolls if the revision process were subsequently found to have legal flaws.
The Election Commission maintained that it remains committed to carrying out its constitutional responsibilities with integrity and said focusing on individual internal notes without considering the larger body of decisions and approvals presents only part of the picture.