The political controversy surrounding the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls intensified on Wednesday, with former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal demanding fresh elections in Delhi, Haryana, Bihar and West Bengal. The Aam Aadmi Party leader also called for the arrest and prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that decisions relating to voter lists and SIR were taken without the required approval of the full three-member poll panel.
Addressing a press conference, Kejriwal argued that the Election Commission is a three-member constitutional body comprising the CEC and two Election Commissioners. He said the CEC is “first among equals” and does not possess unilateral authority to take decisions on behalf of the Commission. Kejriwal’s remarks came after a report in The Indian Express detailed objections reportedly recorded by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi on several issues linked to electoral-roll management and the SIR exercise. According to the report, the two commissioners had raised concerns multiple times over decisions they said were taken without their knowledge or approval.
He alleged that orders were being issued in the name of the Election Commission without the approval of all three commissioners. Kejriwal specifically referred to reported objections from Sandhu and Joshi concerning the issuance of communications and orders without the Commission's approval.
The former Delhi chief minister demanded fresh elections in Delhi, Haryana, Bihar and West Bengal, the entire SIR exercise be scrapped and that changes made to electoral rolls during the past two to three years be reviewed. He argued that the earlier voter lists should be restored and questioned changes made to Form 6, which is used for registration of new voters.
Kejriwal also alleged that the SIR process had resulted in the deletion of more than 13 crore names from draft electoral rolls. The Indian Express report said the exercise had affected more than 13 crore names across 30 states and Union Territories, though this figure refers to names struck off draft rolls and not necessarily permanent deletions from the final electoral rolls.
He further claimed that Electoral Registration Officers, who have statutory responsibility for electoral rolls at the constituency level, were being denied proper access to voter databases. The concerns reported by the two Election Commissioners similarly focused on what they described as increasing centralisation of electoral-roll data and restrictions on the access available to field-level officials.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion that SIR decisions were taken without collective approval. EC sources said on Wednesday that all decisions of the Commission, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of the CEC as well as both Election Commissioners.
Leave Your Comment