Siddarth Sethia
The latest revelations coming out of the Election Commission of India (ECI) are deeply alarming.They point to an even more disturbing question: has a three-member constitutional body been reduced to the will of one individual – Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar?.
The ECI has three Commissioners.Under the law,its decisions should, as far as possible, be unanimous. Where there is disagreement,the majority must prevail.
Yet the majority two of the three Election Commissioners–Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi –reportedly recorded objections at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions and communications they said were issued without their knowledge or approval.
Their objections were not about routine administrative issues.They concerned new voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, SIR, changes to Form 6 that were described on record as“unauthorised and illegal”, and the centralisation of control over the electoral-roll database by sidestepping the authority of statutory officials at the state level.
The Congress Party, and especially Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi,has consistently raised serious questions about the integrity of our electoral process.
From unusual changes in Maharashtra’s electoral rolls and questions over turnout data,to Mahadevapura and Aland in Karnataka,and concerns over duplicate voters in Haryana,he has repeatedly demanded greater transparency and accountability from the ECI.
The revelations now emerging from within the Commission itself make those concerns even more serious.Questions that were raised from outside the ECI are now being echoed by objections recorded from within it.
Against this backdrop, the manner in which SIR is being conducted across the country,including Karnataka,adds to the concern.
In Karnataka,around 1.08 crore voters were left out of the draft rolls under ASDDO categories, including 46.88 lakh in Bengaluru,while 43.8 lakh voters faced notices over “logical discrepancies” or lack of”mapping”.
The Chief Election Commissioner is first among equals, not above the Commission. If decisions affecting our electoral process were taken by bypassing the other two Commissioners — who together constitute the majority — it strikes at the very principle of collective decision-making laid down by law and demands independent scrutiny.
The damage done to the credibility of the Election Commission, and consequently to public faith in India’s democratic process, has been immense.Restoring that trust must begin now.
I strongly condemn the manner in which CEC Gyanesh Kumar has functioned in the face of these serious revelations.
He has no moral right to continue in office while such grave questions remain over decisions taken under his leadership.
Gyanesh Kumar must be removed from the post of Chief Election Commissioner,and the entire matter must be subjected to an independent and impartial investigation.
The credibility of India’s elections and the faith of every voter in our democracy demand nothing less.
