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- Election Commission Controversy | CEC Gyanesh Kumar Election Commissioners
New Delhi11 minutes ago
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The Election Commission has given its stand on the media investigation report regarding Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The Commission issued a press release on social media platform
The Commission said that all final decisions taken in the last one year, including SIR, have been taken unanimously by the members. On the other hand, BJP also said that differing opinions among election commissioners is a sign of a healthy democracy.
In fact, Indian Express has claimed in its report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections to the decisions and orders of the Commission at least 14 times in the last 10 months. These included changes in Form-6, addition and deletion of names in the voter list and issues with voter data.
The claims of the report and the Election Commission’s response to it
1. Report and EC’s clarification on 14 objections
Report: Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi lodged formal objections to the Commission’s decisions and orders at least 14 times in the last 10 months. Four of these objections were filed on the same day, the report said.
EC’s reply: The Election Commission said that written notes, comments, technical suggestions and internal investigation arrangements are a normal and ongoing process. Their objective is to strengthen transparency, legal compliance and the electoral process. The Commission said that all its work has been done as per the law and the instructions of the Commission.
2. Question on adding and removing names in the voter list
Report: The objections of both the Election Commissioners were also related to the process of adding, removing and re-including names in the voter list. Questions were also raised regarding appeals related to voter deletion in West Bengal.
EC’s reply: The Commission said that the work of registration and deletion of names of voters is done by statutory officers like Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and District Election Officer (DEO) under the law.
3. Question on centralization of voter database
Report: Sandhu and Joshi raised questions over access to the voter database being gradually centralized in Delhi. Joshi had suggested an audit to ensure that changes in voter records can be made only by authorized officials.
EC’s reply: The Election Commission said that its digital platforms like ECINet operate under strict data security protocols. IT security checks and audit controls are in place to prevent unauthorized changes and tampering.
4. The case of declaring the steps related to new voters as ‘unauthorized and illegal’
Report: According to an Indian Express report, the election commissioners had termed some of the steps related to new voters as ‘unauthorized and illegal’.
EC’s reply: The Election Commission said that all its work has been done in accordance with the law and the instructions of the Commission. According to the Commission, the operational questions and suggestions raised at the draft stage are part of the normal administrative process.
5. Objection to changes in Form-6
Report: Both the Election Commissioners had objected to the changes in Form-6 used for registration of new voters. Vivek Joshi had said that without changing the election rules, changes cannot be made in Form-6 in this way. Later Sandhu also lodged an objection to this.
EC’s reply: Form-6 was not directly named in the press release of the Commission. However, the Commission said that all its official orders and decisions have been taken as per due legal procedure and the decisions taken in the last one year have been taken with the unanimous approval of the entire Commission.
6. Case of 97 voters in Goa
Report: In a case in Goa, 97 voters, who were considered eligible by the electoral registration officers, could not be included in the final voter list due to a software problem. The report cited this as an example of concerns related to centralization of data systems.
EC’s reply: In the press release of the Election Commission, no separate answer was given on the issue of these 97 voters of Goa.
EC said- about 40 new initiatives in the last one year
The Election Commission said that in the last one year it launched about 40 new initiatives and made several electoral reforms. These also include work related to voter list revision and SIR. According to the Commission, all these decisions received unanimous approval of the entire Commission.
The EC also said that during this period, many major elections and election related work were done in Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal.
BJP says dissenting opinion is part of democracy
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra called the emergence of different opinions within the Election Commission as part of the democratic process. He said that if the members of the commission do not discuss among themselves, the opposition will accuse them of agreeing with the government.
Opposition demands action against Chief Election Commissioner
After the report came out, opposition parties demanded action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Congress named the controversy as ‘Gyaneshgate’. Rahul Gandhi accused BJP, RSS and Election Commission of ‘vote theft’.
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee demanded removal of CEC and re-election in West Bengal on the basis of pre-SIR voter list. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal also demanded the arrest of the CEC. These are the allegations and demands made by the opposition leaders.
What is the provision in the law?
According to Section 18 of the CEC and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, the functioning of the Commission should, as far as possible, be carried out unanimously. If the members have different opinions, the matter is decided on the basis of majority opinion.
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