New Delhi, September 24: Members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of the Congress, staged a protest in Delhi on Thursday against the Election Commission of India (ECI), raising concerns over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Addressing reporters, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the ECI of being “hijacked” and demanded an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. He also called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and sought a criminal investigation into his functioning.
Surjewala alleged that the SIR exercise had led to the deletion of around 13 crore voters across 19 states. He further claimed that 1.08 crore voters had been deleted in Karnataka, while notices had been issued to another 43 lakh voters.
These figures and allegations were presented by Surjewala as part of the Congress's criticism of the electoral-roll revision process. The Election Commission has disputed the broader characterisation of its functioning and maintained that decisions within the poll panel are taken unanimously.
“We are here with an extremely important issue that affects our polity, our nation, our state of Karnataka, and our people. Democracy is founded upon the right to vote of every individual,” Surjewala said.
He also raised concerns over changes to Form 6, which is used for the registration of new voters. Surjewala questioned the legal basis for the additional requirements and alleged that the changes could disproportionately affect young voters.
The Election Commission has maintained that its electoral-roll procedures are governed by the applicable statutory framework.
Surjewala also alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner had independently filed 16 lakh appeals in West Bengal concerning voter enrolments, describing the development as unprecedented.
“This is a classic case of CEC defying ECI, the Chief Election Commissioner defying the Election Commission of India,” he said.
The controversy surrounding the SIR exercise and questions raised by the Congress over the functioning of the Election Commission are also expected to figure prominently at the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled to be held in New Delhi on September 29.
