New Delhi: The controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has widened, with the Cockroach Janta Party
(CJP) putting forward three demands, including the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a freeze on the SIR exercise. The demands came amid intensifying row over reported differences within the three-member Election Commission. A report by The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge. The objections reportedly covered voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and the centralisation of electoral-roll data. The Election Commission, however, has said differing views and observations are a normal part of internal deliberations and maintained that its final decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous. Against this backdrop, CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and the organisation’s leadership have turned their focus to the functioning of the poll panel and electoral reforms.
CJP’s 3 Demands
The CJP has put forward three key demands amid the SIR controversy:
1. Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and criminal proceedings
The CJP has demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for criminal proceedings against him.
"We are giving Gyanesh Kumar a 48-hour ultimatum to resign. If he does not resign, we will launch a nationwide agitation. We will go to every state, and there will be nationwide protests against Gyanesh Kumar," Abhijeet Dipke said in a press conference today.
Dipke launched a sharp attack on the CEC while speaking about the SIR controversy and alleged that the Election Commission had undermined the democratic process.
“Chief Election Commissioner is the biggest anti-national. Gyanesh Kumar is the biggest anti-national of this country. He should resign immediately because he is the biggest threat to India's democracy. What did democracy mean in our country? Democracy meant that the people would elect the government,” the CJP founder said.
2. Freeze SIR and put upcoming elections on hold
The CJP has also demanded that the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls be frozen.
The organisation has called for upcoming elections to be put on hold until concerns surrounding the electoral-roll revision process are addressed.
The demand comes amid the wider controversy over deletions and additions to electoral rolls under SIR. The Indian Express has reported that the two Election Commissioners raised concerns over several aspects of the process, including changes to Form 6 and the handling of voter data.
3. Repeal the 2023 law on appointment of Election Commissioners
The CJP has also demanded the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
Under the existing law, the committee comprises the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and a Union Cabinet minister nominated by the Prime Minister.
The CJP’s demand comes as questions over the independence and functioning of the Election Commission have intensified following the reported internal objections.
The CJP had earlier announced that it would shift its focus towards the Election Commission and voting rights following the reports of differences within the poll panel.
Dipke had posted, “Election Commission Thik Karo! Important PC tomorrow in Delhi. Gyanesh, it’s done bro,” before the organisation announced a press conference on what it called the “Hijacking of India’s Democracy”.
What The Election Commission Has Said
The Election Commission has pushed back against the suggestion that the reported objections point to a breakdown in decision-making within the institution.
It has said written notes, observations and differing views are part of the normal deliberative process and that the final decisions of the Commission, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.
