New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging irregularities in the electoral process and questioning the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters in New Delhi, Gandhi linked his allegations of “vote chori” to what he described as questions over the legitimacy of laws and institutional changes made by Parliament.
Gandhi alleged that if votes were improperly removed or manipulated, the legitimacy of laws passed by lawmakers elected through those votes would also come under question. He said the Election Commission had a responsibility to protect voters’ rights and called for Kumar’s immediate resignation.
His remarks came a day after an investigative report highlighted differences within the Election Commission over aspects of the SIR exercise. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised formal objections on multiple occasions over a period of 10 months concerning electoral-roll processes.
The Election Commission, however, has said that queries, written notes and internal differences are part of its institutional process. It has maintained that final decisions of the Commission, including those concerning the SIR, were taken unanimously and have legal backing.
Gandhi alleged that the reported differences within the poll panel supported concerns he had previously raised about the electoral process. He claimed that the 2024 Lok Sabha and subsequent Assembly elections had been manipulated, although these remain allegations made by him and have not been established as fact.
He also questioned what he described as the absence of expected anti-incumbency trends in several states, referring to Haryana, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. Gandhi argued that electoral patterns in these states raised questions that required examination.
Gandhi further alleged that voter deletions had affected constituencies associated with opposition leaders and criticised the Election Commission's functioning. He said the concerns were not based on speculation but on what he described as evidence gathered by the Congress.
During the press conference, Gandhi also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah while alleging that the country's democratic institutions had been weakened. These were political allegations made by Gandhi and were not independently established in his remarks.
The Congress leader reiterated his demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and said the Election Commission must ensure that citizens’ voting rights are protected.
The controversy comes amid the ongoing debate over the SIR of electoral rolls and reported internal differences within the poll panel. The Election Commission has maintained that its procedures are intended to ensure accurate electoral rolls and that its final decisions comply with the law.
