‘Let’s unite to save democracy’: Former Home Secretary RK Singh accuses CEC of ‘illegalities’ in SIR

Singh urges Opposition parties not to participate in elections until the CEC and Election Commissioners resign.

Former Union minister RK Singh called on the country's citizens to "unite to save our democracy" | X/@RajKSinghIndia

New Delhi: In a scathing open letter, former Union Minister and Home Secretary R.K. Singh has called on citizens to unite to “save our democracy”, alleging that Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and “his bosses” were committing “illegalities”.
“Did Gyanesh Kumar commit all these illegalities himself or was he directed to do so by his bosses?” the letter asks.

The remarks by Singh, a BJP MP from 2014 to 2024 who served as Minister of Power (independent charge) in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet, came amid the controversy over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. An Indian Express report last week said that the two other Election Commission members, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had repeatedly questioned the CEC over decisions related to the SIR, including changes to the process for enrolling new voters and the security of electoral rolls.

In a post on X, Singh wrote on Monday that the Opposition’s plan to impeach Kumar would be an “exercise in futility” as it did not have the numbers, and suggested that criminal cases be filed against him instead.

He said all Opposition parties should then unite and declare that they would not participate in elections until the CEC and Election Commissioners resign. They should also demand that their successors be appointed under the system proposed by the Supreme Court in its 2023 judgment, he said. The court had then held that, in the absence of a law, appointments to the ECI would be made by a committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.

An open letter to all my countrymen.

Do you want India to remain a democracy? Then you must understand what Gyanesh Kumar, the CEC, and his bosses are doing in the so-called SIR.
They are violating the law.
– As per Section 21 of the law, a special revision is to be undertaken…

— R. K. Singh (@RajKSinghIndia) September 28, 2026

“Elections held in states while the appeals of lakhs of voters were pending must be set aside and fresh elections held. And the poll must be held by ballot not by EVMs because no electronic system has yet been invented which cannot be hacked. That is why none of the economically and digitally advanced countries use EVMs,” he wrote.

“If we want to preserve our democracy the whole country will need to be made aware and united…Let us unite to save our democracy,” Singh said. “Up to now, the efforts of the Government and the Election Commission have always been to enroll all eligible voters. It was a mission to deepen democracy and empower all citizens. This is the first time in the history of the country that the mission is to disenfranchise people.”

Singh pointed out that 13 crore names, or 13 percent of voters, had been deleted through the SIR so far and added, “The difference between NDA and INDIA in the 2024 elections was only 3 percent. So the deletion have had and will have a material impact on the elections.”

The ‘illegalities’

In the letter, Singh alleged that the ECI had committed several illegalities during the SIR.
He said that as per Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the ECI may “at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit”. He therefore argued that ordering an intensive revision across the country was illegal.

He also questioned whether the decision to conduct the SIR had been taken by the full commission or only by Kumar.

Singh further cited Section 21, which provides that the electoral roll in force when a direction for special revision is issued remains valid until the revision is completed. He said the revised roll becomes final only after all appeals against inclusion or deletion have been disposed of.

“Where the appeals were still pending, the original Electoral roll which was valid on the date of notification was to be used. Contrary to this the new roll with deletions was used during the elections even though appeals against deletions were still pending. This was illegal,” he wrote.

Singh also cited Section 22 of the 1950 Act, which empowers an electoral registration officer (ERO) to amend, transpose or delete an entry after proper verification. “Gyanesh Kumar removed the names of all the voters who had been listed by the ERO’s after 2003, without any basis, without any enquiry, and without any show cause to the registered voters. This was blatantly illegal,” he alleged.

He said voters whose names were summarily removed were instead required to apply as fresh voters through Form 6 and provide evidence of their eligibility. Kumar, he alleged, had therefore shifted the burden of proof onto citizens to establish their eligibility for the electoral rolls.

“Deleting voters’ names before verification is a heinous offence, and Gyanesh Kumar is guilty thereof,” he wrote.

Singh also criticised the Supreme Court, saying its order upholding the SIR “was wrong” and that the judgment “is at par in infamy with the judgement upholding the emergency”. He also pointed to the pending challenge to the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners. “The procrastination on the challenge to the law on selection of Election Commissioners is also sending a bad message about the Supreme Court—as it is an open and shut case that the Election Commissioners should not be selected by the party in power; but by a neutral selection committee to ensure their neutrality.”

Form 6, logical discrepancies

Singh’s letter also pointed out that a new appendix was added to Form 6, which is to be filled by new voters, without making adequate amendments He also questioned the filing of bulk objections to the inclusion of voters’ names through Form 7.

He further questioned the ECI’s filing of appeals against the names of 16 lakh voters in West Bengal, asking who had authorised the commission to do so—a question that, according to the Indian Express investigation, was also raised by one of the Election Commissioners.

Singh claimed the exercise had not affected illegal immigrants but had instead affected the poor and underprivileged.

“The largest number of exclusions have been the poor and the underprivileged, those without a voice. They were and are mostly away from their homes, earning their daily bread. Lakhs are working in faraway places/states. They could not and cannot afford to go back to their homes for a month to get their names registered. They will go hungry if they do not earn. They cannot fill the complicated forms. They do not have birth certificates and the papers. Why should they sacrifice their daily wages for a vote?” he wrote.

Singh also raised concerns about voters being deleted on the ground of “logical discrepancies” and reiterated the concerns over the “centralisation” of electoral rolls through the ERONet platform.

“The centralisation of the voter list amendment is dangerous. It can be used to cut voters from booths which vote against NDA. Is this what happened? Deleting voters names before verification is a heinous offence, and Gyanesh Kumar is guilty thereof,” he wrote.

(Edited by Chingkheinganbi Mayengbam)