Two Election Commissioners reportedly recorded objections on 14 occasions over 10 months; Election Commission says final decisions, including those on SIR, were unanimous.
New Delhi: Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi announced a press conference amid an escalating political controversy over the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. In a post on X, Gandhi said that those he described as “opponents of the Constitution” had been exposed and announced that he would address the media at 4 pm. The remarks came as reports of internal objections within the Election Commission generated fresh political debate.
The controversy follows an investigation by The Indian Express, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period to various decisions and directives issued in the name of the Election Commission. According to the report, some of the objections concerned decisions that the two commissioners said had been taken without their prior knowledge or approval.
The reported disagreements covered several aspects of electoral-roll management, including the SIR exercise, registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, access to electoral-roll databases and changes associated with Form 6, which is used for enrolment of new voters.
One of the most contentious issues concerned an SIR-related declaration associated with Form 6. According to The Indian Express, applicants using the online system were asked to indicate whether their name appeared in the electoral roll during the previous SIR, whether a parent or grandparent appeared on that roll, or whether neither was listed.
The report said Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi objected to the move and argued that changes involving the statutory voter-registration framework required the appropriate legal procedure. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu also reportedly raised objections and described the change as “unauthorised” and “illegal,” calling for its removal.
The Election Commission has subsequently clarified that the original Form 6 itself was not altered. According to the Commission, the SIR-related declaration was introduced as a separate annexure rather than as a modification to the statutory form.
The Election Commission has disputed the interpretation that the reported objections demonstrate a breakdown in collective decision-making. It maintains that operational queries, suggestions and differing views raised during the drafting and consultation stages are part of the Commission’s normal administrative process.
The Commission has said that final decisions taken by the three-member body—including those relating to the SIR—were unanimous. It also argued that focusing on individual comments or objections made during preliminary deliberations without considering the complete decision-making process could present an incomplete picture.
The reports have nevertheless intensified the political debate over the SIR process and the functioning of the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi and other opposition figures have cited the reported internal objections while renewing their criticism of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Commission’s handling of electoral-roll revisions.
The Election Commission, for its part, continues to maintain that its final decisions were taken collectively and in accordance with the constitutional and legal framework governing the poll body.
