New Delhi, Sep 23 Opposition parties on Wednesday demanded scrapping of the SIR exercise and mounted a fierce attack on CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that he was running the poll panel as a “one-man autocracy” and demanding his impeachment and arrest, after objections raised by election commissioners on the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists came into the open.
The ruling BJP, however, said that election commissioners sharing differing views in official deliberations shows the Election Commission (EC) is functioning in a democratic manner and demolishes the opposition parties’ allegation that it is “dictatorial”.
Two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, red-flagged issues relating to deletion of names under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and raised objections to the decision-making process 14 times in the past few months, according to a report in Indian Express.
Reacting to it, the Election Commission asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution and all its orders “are an outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full Commission in the past one year”.
The opposition parties, which have been critical of the EC over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, latched onto the issue to demand immediate impeachment proceedings against CEC Kumar in Parliament.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, reiterated his “vote chori” charge against the EC, terming it an act of treason and a crime against the people of India.
“The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served,” Gandhi said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal demanded that CEC Gyanesh Kumar be jailed and immediately removed from his post.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that on 24 April 2026, 73 opposition Rajya Sabha MPs had submitted a new Notice of Motion to the Secretary General to remove CEC Kumar.
“The Monsoon Session of Parliament has not yet been prorogued. Will the Hon’ble Rajya Sabha Chairman now decide on that pending Notice?” Kharge said, adding that the country will demand answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.s
DMK president M K Stalin said CEC Kumar must resign from his post and claimed that he has no right to continue in office. Demanding that the SIR exercise be halted, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister sought a fair probe, “into everything that transpired within the EC and those responsible should be held accountable.”
Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee demanded the arrest of CEC Kumar and sought fresh assembly polls in the state with the pre-SIR voter list.
Banerjee, in a Facebook live, alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission had “looted” the West Bengal Assembly polls held earlier this year. “There will be pan-India protests till Gyanesh Kumar remains CEC. He should be arrested and criminal proceedings initiated against him.”
The Trinamool Congress leader said INDIA bloc partners have spoken about the matter and will meet soon.
“Impeach CEC to save democracy,” her TMC colleague Derek O’Brien said.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters here, party spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “The media reports saying that the election commissioners shared differing views in official deliberations is a reflection of pure democracy.”
“If there is no communication and exchange of views among the election commissioners who conduct polls, the opposition parties would allege ‘dictatorship’ and call them ‘yes men’ of the government,” he charged.
Left parties also demanded removal of CEC Kumar and an immediate halt to SIR, with CPI(M) MP John Brittas writing to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her “urgent intervention.”
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh, however, alleged that CEC Kumar has functioned as a “hatchet man” for Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who, in turn, is the designated executor of the PM’s wishes.
“What the CEC has been doing is with the full knowledge, support and, in fact, at the instigation of the PM and HM themselves. #Gyaneshgate has been orchestrated by G2. Of that there can be no doubt,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said the central government and Election Commission need to take corrective steps in order to prevent people from losing faith in elections.
“Corrective action needs to be taken somewhere. Otherwise, if people lose faith in elections, what remains of democracy? Election is the very foundation of democracy…. So I believe the members of the Election Commission and the Government of India need to reflect on this,” the National Conference leader said.
Thackeray demanded that CEC Kumar be jailed and that the last elections in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu be nullified and repolls be held in these states using ballot papers, as he thanked the ECs for “exposing” Kumar.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said in Lucknow that governments formed during a period when the Election Commission was not functioning impartially were “unconstitutional”, and that the “interference” with the poll panel amounted to “trampling” democracy.
“This means that the governments which have been formed during this period are unconstitutional governments,” Yadav said.
Senior Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said there is no doubt remaining that Gyanesh Kumar has no right to remain in office and must resign. He said this is a serious issue and an example of “double bulldozer sarkar”.
“An external bulldozer works against institutions and an internal bulldozer is the CEC who has bulldozed his own organisation and his own colleagues and has hijacked the EC,” Singhvi said.
In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said revelations raise serious questions not just about the process, but more importantly about the integrity of the Election Commission of India (ECI) itself.
Brittas said this is no longer an Election Commission, it is a “one-man autocracy” under CEC Kumar. Parliament must immediately start the process for the removal of the CEC, he said.
TMC’s Mamata Banerjee-led faction leader Abhishek Banerjee demanded the removal of CEC Kumar and sought a court-monitored investigation into the functioning of the poll panel.
Kejriwal too demanded that the entire SIR exercise be cancelled and that CEC Kumar should immediately be arrested, alleging that he was running the Election Commission on his own, making the SIR carried out across the country “illegal”.
“So today, we demand that the entire SIR process be cancelled, that all changes made under SIR be cancelled, and that the voter list from three years ago be restored,” the AAP chief said.
Kumar should be arrested and a case of sedition should be registered against him, he added.
(PTI News)
