Congress demands CEC resignation amid Election Commission internal rifts

The Congress on Saturday intensified its attack on the Election Commission, alleging that the poll body was engaged in damage control after internal divisions became public through recent media reports. The opposition party called for an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, claiming the process has disenfranchised crores of voters across the country.

Congress leaders asserted that nothing short of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation or prosecution would be acceptable, signaling the severity of their concerns about the electoral body's functioning.

The Election Commission responded with a statement defending its actions, asserting that all SIR orders were issued after securing approval from all three Election Commissioners. The poll body also noted that changes to Form 6, through which voter names are included in electoral rolls, have been previously upheld by the Supreme Court. Regarding recent letters from Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary, the Commission claimed these pertained only to matters related to a deputed officer's work and were unrelated to policy decisions or IT division operations.

The escalating controversy reflects deepening tensions between the opposition and India's electoral machinery, with questions over the voter roll revision process likely to remain contested in the coming days.