Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], September 23 (ANI): An all-out political storm has snowballed after opposition parties raised a media report by the Indian Express on Wednesday, which had said that decisions taken on the Special Intensive Regulation (SIR) process were objected to by two of the three Election Commissioners.
According to the report, "Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued without their knowledge."
DMK Spokesperson TKS Elangovan on Wednesday questioned the BJP and alleged that the party was playing a game with the SIR process.
"The BJP government is playing a game with this SIR. So, they want to remove the Muslims from this country. That is their motive. They want to make it a Hindu country, which is impossible, because as per law, people have registered as voters and living here for quite a long time, and they have to be allowed to live. The government cannot, by way of SIR, cannot remove their names from voters lists. The funniest thing is that former Vice President, former Home Minister L. K. Advani—all these names, they have sent letters as to what is happening. The court had severely condemned it. The BJP's activity, this SIR process, the court has very severely attacked. The Election Commission, the government should take care of it," he said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Delhi State President Saurabh Bharadwaj also weighed in on the debate calling for opposition unity against the CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
"All Opposition parties should join hands and fix this CEC first. Everything else is secondary," he said in a post on X.
UBT Sena MP Sanjay Raut's criticism of the CEC was much stronger claiming that the CEC would have to soon face jail.
"Gyanesh Kumar will go to jail! He will have to go! Their masters will flee the country and run away," he posted on X citing the article by Indian Express.
CPI-M MP John Brittas labelled the Election Commission a one-man autocracy while referencing the media report.
"This is no longer an Election Commission. It is a one-man autocracy under CEC Gyanesh Kumar!! Two Election Commissioners have formally objected 14 times in 10 months. They branded the addition of new voters and mass deletion “unauthorised and illegal.” The recorded objections to secret deletions, restorations, and form 6 changes that harass young first-time voters — all while being kept in the dark. This is the open subversion of the EC and our democracy too! Parliament must immediately start the process for the removal of the CEC. We had in fact submitted a notice for removal on 24 th April ,2026 as per the constitutional stipulations - solid grounds and around 70 members signing (50 in the stipulated number). The Constitution provides this power for precisely such moments of institutional capture and subversion. The Supreme Court must annul the entire SIR process without delay. When two of the three Commissioners put on record that the exercise is illegal and destructive of the electoral roll’s integrity, judicial silence becomes complicity. What Gyanesh Kumar is doing is the death knell of a democratic nation. Remove the CEC. Strike down the SIR. Or accept that free and fair elections in India are already being buried," Brittas posted on X.
The report is likely to blow up further with the Congress calling for a news conference later in the day to be addressed by party MP Abhsishek Singhvi. The Congress and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been virulent in his attack of the Election Commission and the SIR process alleging that this had led to a theft of voting rights. (ANI)
Opposition lambasts CEC Gyanesh Kumar after media report says two Election Commissioners objected to SIR decisions
