Rahul Gandhi, Opposition Demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s Removal Amid SIR Row
<p>Rahul Gandhi and Opposition demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal after internal Election Commission dissent.</p>
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Internal dissent within the Election Commission of India has led to a major political controversy, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and several Opposition parties demanding the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The controversy centres on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, with Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objecting multiple times to decisions allegedly made without their knowledge over the past ten months.
According to The Indian Express, the objections by Sandhu and Joshi were raised at least 14 times, including four times on a single day, regarding the SIR process. These objections highlighted concerns about the opacity of decision-making and the exclusion of the two commissioners from key decisions, prompting them to escalate their concerns to the Cabinet Secretary.
As reported by Deccan Herald, Rahul Gandhi described the alleged “vote chori” as a direct attack on the Constitution and accused the BJP, RSS, and Election Commission of committing an act of treason. He stated, “Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our Constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served.”
Opposition leaders intensified their criticism after the revelations, with coverage revealed that several parties, including the Congress, CPI(M), and Trinamool Congress, accused Gyanesh Kumar of running the Election Commission as a “one-man autocracy.” They alleged that the SIR process led to unauthorised deletions and additions to the voter rolls, undermining the integrity of the electoral process.
Further details emerged following reports that Sandhu and Joshi objected to changes in statutory forms, centralisation of voter roll controls, and the lack of access for state election officials to the ERONet portal. Both commissioners described some actions as “unauthorised and illegal,” and called for immediate corrective measures.
“How the hell can one man, acting on His Master's orders, strike off names at whim? How can he sideline fellow Constitutional officers to only take blatantly illegal steps that put our democracy in danger?” said Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, as cited in the sources.
In response to the allegations, official statements indicated that the Election Commission maintained all decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of all three commissioners. However, the internal objections and public statements by Sandhu and Joshi have raised questions about the transparency and collegiality of the Commission’s functioning.
Amid the escalating row, reporting indicated that the Congress and other Opposition parties have called for a Supreme Court-monitored investigation and impeachment proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar. They argue that the credibility of the Election Commission has been severely compromised and that urgent action is required to restore public trust.
Additional reactions surfaced as details emerged from civil society figures, such as CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke, who alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was “scripting elections” and claimed that over 12 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls during the SIR process.
Note: This article is produced using AI-assisted tools and is based on publicly available information. It has been reviewed by The Quint's editorial team before publishing.