Scrap SIR, sack Gyanesh Kumar: Opposition speaks in one voice

Lawmakers cutting across party lines on Wednesday, 23 September, demanded the “immediate removal” of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and scrapping of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Opposition also accused the Chief Election Commissioner of indulging in "one-man autocracy".

A report in the Indian Express on 23 September triggered a political storm after it revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had flagged multiple issues, including deletion of names, and repeatedly raised various issues related to the SIR.

The national rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three Commissioners. According to the report, Sandhu and Joshi formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months—in one instance, four times on a single day—to decisions taken and orders issued which, they say, were done without their knowledge.

Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh shared a screenshot of the media report on X.

Ramesh said "the CEC has destroyed the credibility and integrity of the Election Commission of India".

Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said there is no doubt remaining that Kumar has no right to remain in office.

"How the hell can one man, acting on His Master's orders, strike off names at whim? How can he sideline fellow Constitutional officers to only take blatantly illegal steps that put our democracy in danger?" he said.

"We demand Gyanesh Kumar's immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored impartial investigation to expose the rot that has destroyed the ECI's credibility," Venugopal said.

CPI(M) MP John Brittas said this is no longer an Election Commission, it is a "one-man autocracy" under CEC Kumar.

"Two Election Commissioners … branded the addition of new voters and mass deletion 'unauthorised and illegal'. They recorded objections to secret deletions, restorations, and form 6 changes that harass young first-time voters—all the while being kept in the dark," he said.

"Parliament must immediately start the process for the removal of the CEC... The Supreme Court must annul the entire SIR process without delay. When two of the three Commissioners put on record that the exercise is illegal and destructive of the electoral roll's integrity, judicial silence becomes complicity," Brittas said.

Congress MP Manish Tewari also reacted to the media report, saying that if the ostensible facts as reported are correct then it seems to suggest that there is an "invisible hand" running the Election Commission.

"If rules were not allegedly followed and decisions were taken that were not unanimous or by majority then all the decisions of @ECISVEEP are per -se arbitrary and capricious if not completely illegal," Tewari said on X.

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi CM also demanded that the entire SIR exercise be cancelled and Kumar be arrested immediately.

Kumar was running the Election Commission on his own, making the entire process carried out across the country "illegal", Kejriwal said in a press conference in New Delhi.

Former chief election commissioner O.P. Rawat said changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6 are "absolutely wrong and illegal", while describing revelations of differences within the Election Commission as "very serious" and "unfortunate".

Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal demanded Kumar's suspension and filing of an FIR to probe who is behind his actions.

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, citing the media report, said "A-Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail! He will have to go! His masters will flee the country and run away!"

TMC Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien said on X, "Five months ago, 60+ Rajya Sabha MPs (50 needed) wrote to Chairman RS moving Motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar. After big news break today that two Election Commissioners objected to many of CEC's actions, it's time to bring out the RS Motion today. Impeach CEC to save democracy".