NEW DELHI: Union minister HD Kumaraswamy on Saturday called on the Election Commission EC to clarify amid the continuing row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.Kumaraswamy said the responsibility for addressing reports of internal differences lay with the Election Commission itself and that the country needed to know what was actually happening within the constitutional body.“It is not the question of demands by any party or any leader. The responsibility of the Election Commission, that is important. What is the ground reality? What is going on inside the Election Commission?” Kumaraswamy said.His remarks came a day after three NDA allies Chirag Paswan’s LJP(RV), Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM and Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP separately urged the Election Commission to address concerns surrounding the SIR exercise and reports of differences within the poll panel.Kumaraswamy said there was a need to distinguish between reports appearing in the media and the actual situation inside the ECI.“The difference between what we are watching in the media and what is the real fact has to come out by these members. Because this is an important organisation, an autonomous body; why has it happened? That reality they must tell the media and the country. Their responsibility is greater. It is not an easy thing. Those three Election Commission members, including the chairman, what is the problem between them? What is the fault in that? Anything is there, they have to spell it,” he said.The issue gained traction after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded 14 written dissents or objections over a 10-month period. The reports have prompted opposition demands for action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and calls to halt the SIR process.The ECI has maintained that differing views, internal notes and queries are part of its institutional functioning and said its final decisions on the SIR were unanimous.
What NDA allies said
LJP(RV) chief and Union minister Chirag Paswan on Friday said he did not intend to “defend what is a constitutional body” but argued that the Election Commission should address public concerns directly.“If questions are being raised about its conduct, it is the responsibility of EC, especially the chief election commissioner (Gyanesh Kumar), to present its side firmly,” Paswan said.He added: “If people start losing trust in the electoral system, that will not augur well for democracy and, therefore, I think the EC must come out with its clarification more forcefully. It need not respond to what Rahul Gandhi and his associates are saying. But it must dispel misgivings in the minds of the people.”RLM president Upendra Kushwaha also called for an immediate clarification, writing on social media, “There is considerable confusion among the public regarding the controversy surrounding SIR. This issue needs to be addressed. The EC should immediately clarify the situation to dispel this confusion.”The TDP too sought greater transparency. TDP parliamentary party neta Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu said, “The EC is a constitutional institution entrusted with a crucial responsibility in our democracy. Therefore, whenever questions are raised by anyone, providing appropriate clarification and maintaining transparency will only help strengthen public confidence in the institution.”
Opposition raises allegations
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Minister Irfan Ansari criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR exercise and alleged that names had been removed from electoral rolls.Speaking to ANI, Ansari alleged that the ECI had acted in a manner that benefited the BJP and questioned whether the poll panel would work according to the directions of a political party. The allegations were not independently established in his remarks.
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“I want to ask the citizens of the country, and I even want to ask the BJP voters: Names have been removed from the voter list; your name might have been removed too,” Ansari said.He also alleged that names of Muslims, Dalits and Adivasis had been deleted from voter lists and demanded that elections in Bihar be held again.“The Commission is an independent, neutral body. No political party should interfere with it,” he said, while alleging that Kumar had interfered and helped the BJP.
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