Security tightened at EC headquarters as INDIA bloc plans march over SIR

• Security increased around the Election Commission headquarters and key locations in New Delhi ahead of the opposition march

• Congress cited reported flaws in West Bengal’s SIR appeal portal and demanded accountability from the CEC, prime minister and home minister

• The Supreme Court said it had not approved changes to Form 6; the EC maintains that its decisions followed statutory procedures

Security was tightened around the Election Commission headquarters on Tuesday ahead of a planned march by INDIA bloc MPs demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Officials said additional personnel had been deployed around the poll panel’s office and other sensitive locations to regulate movement and prevent disturbances. Security measures at key points in New Delhi have been strengthened since Friday following protest calls by opposition parties and other organisations.

The INDIA bloc announced the march after a meeting of 19 opposition parties on 30 September. Its leaders are also scheduled to meet President Droupadi Murmu to raise their concerns about the revision exercise.

The planned demonstration comes as Congress renewed its attack on the Election Commission, citing an investigation by The Indian Express into problems with the digital portal used by appellate tribunals in West Bengal.

The tribunals, constituted on the Supreme Court’s orders, hear appeals against exclusions from electoral rolls following the SIR. According to the newspaper’s report, former High Court judges heading the tribunals raised concerns about missing facilities for serving notices, conducting virtual hearings and providing copies of orders.

Sharing the report on X, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh described the West Bengal Assembly polls as a “textbook case of mass manipulation and rigging”. He claimed that Kumar had overseen an effort by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to secure victory in the state.

Ramesh demanded the CEC’s removal and said Modi and Shah should also be held accountable. He added that INDIA bloc MPs, along with other opposition MPs invited to join them, would march peacefully to the Election Commission.

He also described security around the Parliament complex as unprecedented and characterised the deployment as a sign of the government’s nervousness.

The opposition’s demand for Kumar’s resignation intensified on Monday after the Supreme Court clarified that it had not approved modifications to Form 6, the application used by eligible citizens to seek inclusion in electoral rolls.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana said it would examine the decisions placed before it and annul any found contrary to law. The court also said it wanted to establish who had authorised the changes when the records were produced.

Congress and other opposition parties contended that the CEC had acted unilaterally in modifying the form for the SIR process. Rahul Gandhi said on Monday that Kumar and others involved in what he described as an assault on democracy would be held accountable.

The dispute has also been fuelled by an earlier The Indian Express report that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded at least 14 objections over 10 months to decisions and orders, mainly concerning the SIR.

The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of a split within its three-member body and maintained that decisions concerning the exercise were unanimous. Responding to reports of internal objections, it said differing views were part of institutional deliberations and that its orders had legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures.

With PTI inputs