New Delhi, Sep 26 (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said the Election Commission was in “damage control” mode after differences within the poll body came out following a media “expose” and demanded that the ongoing SIR exercise that has “disenfranchised crores” is suspended immediately.
The Congress also said that nothing short of CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation or prosecution will suffice.
The opposition party’s reaction came after the Election Commission issued a statement asserting that all Special Intensive Revision (SIR) orders were issued after approval from all three Election Commissioners and the changes in Form 6, through which names are included in the voters’ list, have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
The poll body also claimed that the letters sent by commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to the Cabinet Secretary were not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but to the working of an officer on deputation to it.
Congress’ head of media and publicity department Pawan Khera said, “The ECI’s press note today is too lame, too little, too late.”
Reacting sharply to the EC statement, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the poll body is in damage control mode after it has already caused “massive damage” to our democracy.
“It has just issued a wishy-washy Press Note that raises further questions on its intent, integrity, impartiality and credibility,” he said on X.
“The ongoing SIR which has turned to be method of massive disenfranchisement of several crores of India must be suspended immediately without delay.
“In the meantime, nothing short of the CEC’s resignation or prosecution will suffice,” he said in a two-page statement.
He said in the wake of the expose by the Indian Express and subsequent reporting in other newspapers, and the nationwide protests that have followed seeking the removal of Kumar, the EC has now come out with a press note.
“First, the Press note does not directly deny the story or its findings. It makes a defensive attempt to downplay the same in paragraph 3(i) and 3(ii) but does not say that the allegations are baseless.
“Second, in the case of Goa, after having been caught out the ECI has sheepishly stated that Form 6 has already been filled out for inclusion by 81 of the 97 deleted voters. To put this another way, you disenfranchise voters through a broken and corrupt system, and when caught say that they are being added back,” Ramesh said.
Khera said the EC statement still leaves several questions unanswered, even as it does not address the objections raised by two ECs on alterations in Form 6 for new voters.
“That objection was not resolved then. It was not resolved since. And this ‘mother of all objections’ has still not been addressed – even after today’s so-called unanimous meeting.
“So until the ECI answers this specific legal objection, no length of press notes, no claim of unanimity or any other clownery can save Gyanesh Kumar Gupta’s face,” Khera said on X.
“It is still not too late for him. He should resign and turn approver, or prepare for jail,” he also said.
In another post, Khera said, “So Gyanesh Kumar Gupta can try, as much as he wants, to hide behind these long press notes. He cannot simply wash his hands of this mess.”
“He should either resign and turn approver, or be prepared to be tried for TREASON,” he said.
Ramesh, meanwhile, claimed that it seeks to justify the Commission’s actions by appealing to the Order of the Supreme Court of May 27, 2026.
“The Order which was pronounced well before the recent revelations will not save the CEC for the malicious deletion of targeted voters, for the incompetence that has resulted in citizens being wiped off the roles, for the crores lost in both expenses and man-hours due to the confusion and harassment caused to entire families,” he noted.
The Congress leader said while the EC has extended the deadlines for voter registration in Delhi and Maharashtra, but asked what happens to the voters of Karnataka and Telangana.
“What happens to the voters disenfranchised in Bihar and West Bengal? Do the voters of these and other states who were deleted due to one man’s corruption not deserve answers,” he asked.
On the EC’s claim that it will now involve experts from IIT/IIIT to review the ECINET portal and submit a report to ensure it complies with rules, he said, “Aside from being a meaningless safeguard (since the concern is not about the technical soundness but rather the centralization which prevents voter addition at ground level) this confirms the concerns attributed to the two other Election Commissioners per the reportage.”
“The Press Note avoids answering the questions regarding the deliberate targeting of Gen Z voters. The ECI has no answer for its targeted disenfranchisement, beginning mid-July 2026 through wholly illegal changes made to Form 6 (unseen and unapproved by Parliament) which placed an unfair burden on them to find and disclose their parents and/or grandparents’ details.
“The revelations regarding (1) the unilateral nature of decision making by the CEC, (2) his open hatred and bias against the Opposition resulting in a clear bias, (3) his willing participation and abetment in Vote Chori by the ruling regime, (4) his specific attack to prevent the enrollment of Gen Z voters, (5) his corruption exposed ironically by his negligence in purging and pruning voter lists, needs to be answered for,” he said.
Ramesh said the CEC thinks he can hide behind ‘bureaucratise’ and protocol.
“He stands exposed and is now petrified as an entire country seeks to hold him accountable,” Ramesh said. PTI SKC ZMN
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