Election Commission legally has no right to hold SIR: Manish Tewari

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Tuesday delivered a charged and evocative address in the Lok Sabha, arguing that the Election Commission has “no legal right” to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls — a process he urged must be halted immediately. His remarks unfurled into a broader critique of the poll body’s neutrality and a call for sweeping reforms to restore public faith in India’s electoral architecture.

Opening the debate on election reforms, Tewari said that the first step toward cleansing the system must be to amend the 2023 law governing the appointment of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. While the current selection panel comprises the Prime Minister, the leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and a Union cabinet minister, he proposed expanding it to include the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

"If such a committee is formed then 'theek se khela hobega' and it will play an important role in removing the doubts over the EC," Tewari said.

Invoking B.R. Ambedkar’s vision of the Election Commission as a guardian of democratic fairness, Tewari lamented that many in the Opposition and beyond now feel compelled to question its neutrality. Citing Article 327, he argued that the power to legislate on electoral rolls rests squarely with Parliament, not with the Election Commission acting independently.

"It was expected of the EC that it will work as a neutral umpire, but regretfully I have to say that many members sitting on this side (pointing to opposition benches) and many people feel the need to raise questions over its neutrality," Tewari said.

He asserted that the SIR has neither constitutional sanction nor legal backing, and that the EC can order revisions only in specific constituencies where errors are formally recorded and publicly disclosed. “Where are the written reasons?” he asked.

"Stop this SIR. There is no provision in law which allows the SIR to go ahead. You will say that were the SIRs conducted earlier illegal, to which my answer is that multiple wrongs don't make a right," he said.

Tewari reminded the House that Indian democracy rests on two pillars — the citizen who votes and the political parties that contest. He praised the framers of the Constitution for granting universal adult franchise at a time when many nations imposed restrictive qualifications. Among the boldest reforms, he said, was Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988–89 move to reduce the voting age from 21 to 18, ushering millions of young Indians into the democratic fold.

In a speech laden with constitutional gravitas and political urgency, Tewari sought not just to critique but to rekindle trust in the institutions that uphold India’s electoral soul.

With PTI inputs