Jairam Ramesh attacks ECI’s clarification on internal differences, voter enrolment and ECINET, alleging serious concerns over the electoral-roll revision exercise
New Delhi, Sept 2026 : The Congress on Saturday renewed its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for an immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, following the Election Commission of India’s clarification on reports of differences within the poll panel.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised the ECI’s statement issued after a full Commission meeting earlier in the day, arguing that it did not adequately address concerns raised in recent media reports about the functioning of the three-member poll panel.
The controversy follows a The Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and directions concerning voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, Form 6 and access to electoral-roll databases.
The ECI, however, said on Saturday that major decisions relating to the SIR had been taken collectively and unanimously. It maintained that the June 24, 2025 order launching the revision exercise had received the approval of all three commissioners and that subsequent schedules were also approved unanimously.
Ramesh said the Commission’s latest statement did not directly deny the reported disagreements and described its response as an attempt to downplay the concerns raised in the media.
He also questioned the ECI’s explanation regarding 97 voters in Goa who had initially been left out of the electoral rolls. The Commission said 81 of the 97 voters had already submitted Form 6 for inclusion after Booth Level Officers were directed to conduct house-to-house visits.
Ramesh argued that the development raised questions about the process through which voters had initially been excluded and demanded accountability for those affected.
The Congress leader also criticised the ECI’s reliance on a Supreme Court order while explaining aspects of the SIR process. He argued that the judicial order could not, in his view, resolve questions concerning alleged voter deletions, administrative confusion or the implementation of the revision exercise.
Another issue raised by Ramesh was the extension of SIR-related deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra. He questioned what measures would apply to voters in other states where the revision process has also generated political controversy, including Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar and West Bengal.
The Congress also objected to the ECI’s decision to review its ECINET technology platform with the assistance of an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT. The Commission said the review would be conducted by a committee headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner.
Ramesh argued that the central issue was not merely the technical functioning of ECINET but what he described as the centralisation of access to electoral-roll data. The Indian Express report had similarly highlighted concerns attributed to Sandhu and Joshi over the centralisation of voter-data access and changes involving the poll panel’s IT infrastructure.
He also alleged that changes made to Form 6 had placed additional requirements on new voters, particularly young electors, by seeking information linking applicants to previous electoral rolls through parents or grandparents.
The Congress has described these developments as evidence of what it calls systematic disenfranchisement and has demanded that the SIR process be halted.
Ramesh further alleged that the ECI had failed to adequately respond to questions concerning the treatment of young, or Gen Z, voters and claimed that the poll panel’s actions had disproportionately affected their enrolment.
The Congress leader reiterated his party’s demand that Kumar resign or face prosecution, while calling for the SIR exercise to be suspended immediately.
The ECI, for its part, has rejected suggestions of a breakdown in collective decision-making and said major SIR decisions were taken unanimously. It has also announced procedural measures, including advance circulation of meeting agendas and issuing minutes after Commission meetings, as part of efforts to strengthen its internal functioning.
The dispute over the SIR and the functioning of the Election Commission is expected to remain a major political issue, with Opposition parties continuing to question the process and the poll panel maintaining that its decisions are being taken within the established legal and constitutional framework.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
