Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has intensified his criticism of the Election Commission over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, Kharge demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and accused the government of putting pressure on the poll panel.
Kharge also called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign on moral grounds over the issue. His remarks are part of the Congress’ political criticism of the Election Commission and its handling of the electoral roll revision process.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that the SIR-related decisions were taken through the prescribed procedure. The poll panel has also rejected the suggestion that differences among its members amount to a serious internal breakdown.
Kharge lists five demands on voter rolls
At the CWC meeting, Kharge called for greater transparency in the process of preparing and revising electoral rolls.
He demanded that detailed information about major changes made to voter lists should be made public. He also asked the Election Commission to provide electoral rolls and related data to political parties in a simple format and within a reasonable time.
Kharge further demanded that voters whose names are removed from the electoral rolls should be informed about the deletion and given an opportunity to challenge it.
Another demand was for independent and time-bound investigations in cases where serious discrepancies are found during the revision process.
The Congress president also called for greater transparency in election-related data and decisions, arguing that voters need confidence in the electoral system.
Congress questions role of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Kharge accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of failing to ensure the independence of the Election Commission and demanded his removal.
He also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had put pressure on the CEC and said the Prime Minister should resign on moral grounds. These allegations have been made by Kharge and the Congress and are not established findings.
The Congress has also raised questions over reports of differences within the Election Commission.
Reports have said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections to several decisions during discussions over a period of months. The reported objections have become part of the wider political debate surrounding the SIR exercise.
Election Commission rejects claims of serious internal dispute
The Election Commission has pushed back against the portrayal of these differences as evidence of a serious split within the poll panel.
The ECI has said that members can raise observations or express different views during institutional discussions. It has maintained that decisions concerning the SIR were taken according to the established legal and procedural framework.
The disagreement over the electoral roll revision has nevertheless become a major political issue, with the Congress questioning the transparency of the process and demanding greater access to electoral data.
Kharge says voters should be able to challenge deletions
Kharge said the debate over electoral rolls should not be limited to the outcome of any particular election.
According to him, voters must have confidence that eligible citizens will remain on the electoral rolls and that anyone whose name is removed will have a clear mechanism to challenge the decision.
He also linked the issue to the larger question of institutional independence and said the Congress would continue to raise concerns over the electoral roll revision process.
With elections scheduled in several states, the issue of voter-list changes is expected to remain an important political topic. Kharge said the focus should be on ensuring that eligible voters are not left out of the electoral process.
The CWC meeting was attended by several senior Congress leaders, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, party general secretaries and chief ministers of Congress-ruled states.
