New Delhi, Sep 23: Opposition leaders on Wednesday stepped up criticism of the Election Commission following a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders concerning electoral rolls and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, DMK chief MK Stalin, TMC leader Mamata Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the functioning of the poll panel and demanded action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Tejashwi alleged that the Election Commission had been misused to benefit the BJP and demanded fresh elections in Bihar and West Bengal. He also questioned changes relating to the retention period of voting and counting records and the process for appointing the CEC.
“Whether it is the results in Bihar or Maharashtra, Delhi, Haryana, or Bengal—the opposition has not lost,” Tejashwi said, alleging that the EC had been misused to ensure BJP victories.
He also claimed that the retention period for voting and counting records had been reduced from up to one year to 45 days, asking, “When there is no evidence left, what can the opposition do?”
Stalin opposed voter deletions under the SIR exercise and demanded the removal of Gyanesh Kumar. Referring to the reported objections by the two Election Commissioners, he said the issue could not be treated as merely an internal or procedural matter.
“Gyanesh Kumar must go immediately. The SIR exercise must be halted,” Stalin said.
Banerjee described the reported developments as “scandalous” and alleged misuse of the poll panel, while demanding action against the CEC.
“This is such a scandalous story. We had never seen this in our lives,” she said, adding that Gyanesh Kumar had “no moral authority to continue”.
Akhilesh Yadav said the reported objections raised concerns over the functioning of the poll panel and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance.
“This is dangerous for our democracy. This is an attempt to weaken our democracy,” he said.
The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that its decisions were taken without the participation of all three commissioners. It said individual views, observations and technical suggestions during deliberations were part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and maintained that final decisions, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously.
The poll panel said differing views during the draft and deliberation stages formed part of its internal checks and balances, while final orders were issued following established legal and institutional procedures.
The controversy follows an Indian Express investigation which reported that Sandhu and Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the previous 10 months to decisions they said were taken without their knowledge, including matters related to voter registration, deletion and electoral-roll management.
