Oppn pressure to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar intensifies
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New Delhi: Opposition parties have intensified pressure on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign as fresh details from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls raise questions over the centralised handling of voter registration and deletion.
Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has demanded that Kumar step down and become a witness to an investigation into alleged irregularities involving the voter rolls, including allegations concerning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The demand came after an investigation highlighted how electoral registration decisions in Goa were allegedly controlled remotely from Delhi.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has filed a complaint at the Parliament Street Police Station seeking criminal action against Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities. The complaint adds to mounting opposition pressure on the Chief Election Commissioner amid growing scrutiny of the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR exercise.
The Indian Express reported that Election Registration Officers (EROs) in Goa were prevented from restoring the names of 97 voters whom they had examined and found eligible. The EROs reportedly attempted to use the Election Commission’s ECINet software to add the voters back, but the system did not permit them to reverse the earlier deletions.
Goa’s election authorities reportedly approached the central Election Commission eight times within a week, seeking access to the required software function before the final SIR roll was published. The request was not acted upon in time, leaving 97 eligible voters off the final list.
The exclusion reportedly had consequences beyond voting rights, with at least one person affected facing difficulties during a land-registration process because their name was missing from the electoral roll.
The revelations have also intensified scrutiny over the concentration of electoral-roll powers in Delhi. Two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had reportedly repeatedly raised concerns about the centralisation of the voter database and the software's functioning.
Meanwhile, opposition voices have escalated demands for Kumar’s removal. The Cockroach Janta Party has issued a 48-hour ultimatum for his resignation, threatening nationwide protests if he refuses.