NEW DELHI: The Congress on Saturday demanded the immediate suspension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and called for chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation or prosecution. Their demand comes after the Election Commission issued a fresh statement defending its decisions amid reported differences within the poll body.Congress leaders Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh accused the EC of going into “damage control” mode following an Indian Express report and subsequent media coverage on differences between the three election commissioners. The party alleged that the SIR exercise had led to the “disenfranchisement” of crores of voters and questioned the Commission’s explanation on changes to Form 6, used to add names to electoral rolls.“The ECI’s press note today is too lame, too little, too late,” Congress’ head of media and publicity department Pawan Khera said.Ramesh said the Commission had issued the statement only after the media reports and nationwide protests seeking Kumar’s removal.“It has just issued a wishy-washy Press Note that raises further questions on its intent, integrity, impartiality and credibility,” he said on X.“The ongoing SIR, which has turned out to be a method of massive disenfranchisement of several crores of Indians, must be suspended immediately without delay.“In the meantime, nothing short of the CEC’s resignation or prosecution will suffice,” he said in a two-page statement.
Congress questions EC’s explanation
The Election Commission said all SIR orders were issued after approval from all three Election Commissioners. It also said changes to Form 6 had been upheld by the Supreme Court.The Commission further said letters written by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary were not related to any policy decision of the Commission or its IT division. According to the EC, the letters concerned the functioning of an officer deputed to the poll body.Ramesh said the EC statement did not directly deny the findings reported by the Indian Express.“First, the Press note does not directly deny the story or its findings. It makes a defensive attempt to downplay the same in paragraph 3(i) and 3(ii) but does not say that the allegations are baseless,” he said.On Goa, he said the EC’s response showed that 81 of the 97 deleted voters had already filled Form 6 to be included again in the electoral rolls.“To put this another way, you disenfranchise voters through a broken and corrupt system, and when caught say that they are being added back,” Ramesh said.Khera also alleged that the EC had not addressed objections raised by the other two Election Commissioners over changes to Form 6.“That objection was not resolved then. It was not resolved since. And this ‘mother of all objections’ has still not been addressed – even after today’s so-called unanimous meeting,” Khera said on X.“So until the ECI answers this specific legal objection, no length of press notes, no claim of unanimity or any other clownery can save Gyanesh Kumar Gupta’s face,” he said.“It is still not too late for him. He should resign and turn approver, or prepare for jail,” Khera added.
Congress raises questions over voter deletions
Ramesh also questioned the EC’s reliance on a Supreme Court order of May 27 saying the order had preceded the recent media revelations.“The order which was pronounced well before the recent revelations will not save the CEC for the malicious deletion of targeted voters, for the incompetence that has resulted in citizens being wiped off the roles, for the crores lost in both expenses and man-hours due to the confusion and harassment caused to entire families,” he said.He also questioned the extension of voter registration deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra and asked what would happen to voters in Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar and West Bengal.“What happens to the voters disenfranchised in Bihar and West Bengal? Do the voters of these and other states who were deleted due to one man’s corruption not deserve answers,” Ramesh said.The Congress leader also criticised the EC’s decision to involve experts from IITs and IIITs to review the ECINET portal and submit a report on whether it complies with rules.“Aside from being a meaningless safeguard (since the concern is not about the technical soundness but rather the centralization which prevents voter addition at ground level) this confirms the concerns attributed to the two other Election Commissioners per the reportage,” he said.
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Dispute over Gen Z voters
Ramesh alleged that the EC’s statement had not addressed concerns over the deletion of young voters.“The Press Note avoids answering the questions regarding the deliberate targeting of Gen Z voters. The ECI has no answer for its targeted disenfranchisement, beginning mid-July through wholly illegal changes made to Form 6 (unseen and unapproved by Parliament) which placed an unfair burden on them to find and disclose their parents and/or grandparents’ details,” he said.He listed several allegations that he said required answers, including the “unilateral nature of decision making by the CEC”, alleged bias against the Opposition, alleged participation in “vote chori”, the enrolment of Gen Z voters and alleged negligence in the deletion and updating of electoral rolls.Ramesh said the CEC could not avoid scrutiny through bureaucratic procedures.“He stands exposed and is now petrified as an entire country seeks to hold him accountable,” Ramesh said.
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