PM Modi aware of ECINET restrictions on poll officials: Congress

New Delhi: The Congress has directly accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of being aware of and directing controversial changes that allegedly curtailed the powers and access of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) on the Election Commission’s ECINET voter-list portal, according to reports.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh made the allegations while citing reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had complained to Cabinet Secretary T.V. Somanathan in July about the conduct of an Election Commission official. Ramesh alleged that the complaint was forwarded to the Department of Personnel and Training, which he described as under the Prime Minister’s direct control.

He further alleged that instead of action being taken against the official, the person was given responsibility for overseeing the Commission’s IT division. Reports have said the two commissioners had raised concerns over changes that could restrict the statutory powers of EROs responsible for adding and deleting names from electoral rolls.

Ramesh claimed that the IT-related changes weakened transparency and restricted the authority of officers who deal directly with voter rolls. The Election Commission, however, has rejected the interpretation that the commissioners’ letters concerned policy decisions involving its IT division, saying they related to an officer’s functioning.

The Congress has repeatedly criticised Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demanded his removal. The dispute intensified after reports that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded disagreements over several decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The Election Commission has maintained that differences of opinion within a constitutional body are part of the democratic process and that its decisions were issued with full legal validity and in accordance with prescribed rules.