Opposition parties in New Delhi demanded the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists and called for the impeachment and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after election officials raised concerns about the process.
Two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had flagged problems with the deletion of names under the SIR and had raised objections to the decision‑making process 14 times in recent months, according to a report by the Indian Express.
The Election Commission replied that differing views are a normal part of deliberation and that all orders issued over the past year were the result of unanimous decisions by the full commission.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, accused the EC of “vote chori” and called the SIR an act of treason, demanding that Kumar be removed and arrested. Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena and Arvind Kejriwal of the AAP also called for Kumar’s immediate dismissal and imprisonment.
Other opposition leaders joined the call: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said 73 Rajya Sabha MPs had filed a notice to remove Kumar; DMK chief MK Stalin demanded his resignation; former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee urged his arrest and fresh assembly polls using the pre‑SIR voter list.
Left‑wing parties, including the CPI(M), demanded Kumar’s removal and an immediate halt to the SIR, with CPI(M) MP John Brittas writing to President Droupadi Murmu for urgent intervention. The CPI(M) Politburo warned that the revelations cast doubt on both the process and the integrity of the Election Commission itself.
