New Delhi : The Election Commission on Wednesday sought to downplay the reports of dissent within the three-member panel over the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying individual views expressed by Election Commissioners do not constitute decisions of the Commission. While any or both Election Commissioners, or the Chief Election Commissioner, may have individual opinions on any matter, all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including the SIR, have been taken unanimously and with the approval of both Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner.
The clarification came after an Indian Express report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected to decisions and orders issued during the SIR exercise on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months. The report sparked a major political row, with Opposition parties seeking the Supreme Court’s intervention. EC sources said the two Election Commissioners had indeed flagged issues relating to the deletion of names in various states during the electoral roll cleanup, as well as matters concerning the handling of the voter database.
The sources also stressed that all decisions of the Election Commission were taken unanimously and with the approval of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and both Election Commissioners. Commission sources also said differences of opinion were a natural part of the democratic process. “However, over the past 14 months, there have been hundreds of instances where, despite initial differences, consensus was eventually reached and several reform measures were undertaken.
Commission sources also denied allegations of any central interference in the system, saying there is a single system for the entire country into which all Electoral Officers feed data. They said no complaints of interference have been received so far, despite officials having different ideological leanings, the sources added. According to the Indian Express report, though the nationwide SIR was being conducted under the supervision of all three Election Commissioners, but Sandhu and Joshi had formally objected on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders which they said had been issued without their knowledge.
Opposition parties reacted sharply to the report of dissent within the Election Commission, questioning the poll panel’s functioning and demanding action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The Opposition alleged that Kumar had “destroyed” the credibility of the Election Commission. Sharing a video of Rahul Gandhi criticising the Election Commission in Parliament, the Congress said in a post on its official X handle, “BJP and the Election Commission are colluding to destroy our democracy and rob people of their voice.”
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