Opposition attacks CEC Gyanesh over SIR, demands removal

Expansive red flags raised by two Election Commissioners within the poll panel over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists triggered a massive political storm on Wednesday, with the Opposition accusing CEC Gyanesh Kumar of indulging in “one-man autocracy” and demanding his removal.

Officials said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had flagged multiple issues, including deletion of names, in various states during the voter roll cleanup, but the poll body was unanimous in its decisions related to the pan-India SIR of voter



lists.

The reactions poured in after a report in The Indian Express revealed that questions were raised over issues related to the SIR of electoral rolls within the three-member Election Commission (EC) itself, time and again by two of the three Election Commissioners.

The national rollout of the SIR has been under the supervision of all three Commissioners. But Sandhu and Joshi have formally objected, on record, at least 14 times over the last 10 months — four times on a single day — to decisions taken and orders issued, they said, without their knowledge, the report in the news said.