*Main Body:*
Questions surrounding the functioning of the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have intensified, with CJP announcing a protest on October 2. The organisation had earlier given the CEC a 48-hour ultimatum, but later changed its plan and decided to hold the protest on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2.
The controversy has also drawn reactions from within the NDA. LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan recently said that if allegations have been made against the Chief Election Commissioner, he should come forward and present his side. His remarks have added another dimension to the ongoing discussion over the functioning of the Election Commission.
The central issue raised by CJP is the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. The organisation has alleged that more than 13 crore valid names have been excluded from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories because of the SIR process. This remains an allegation by the organisation, and the official records and explanation from the Election Commission are important for assessing the actual scale and reasons behind the deletions.
CJP coordinator Abhijit Dipke and co-coordinators Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka have launched the organisation's ‘Fix the Election Commission’ campaign. They have demanded that the Election Commission establish that every name removed from the electoral rolls was deleted through a legal, transparent and reviewable procedure.
The organisation has also demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Along with this, it has called for an independent investigation into decisions taken during the SIR process.
According to CJP, the deletion of names from electoral rolls is a matter directly connected with citizens' voting rights. The organisation has therefore demanded greater transparency in the process and an opportunity for affected voters to verify their status and provide the necessary documents.
Another demand is an immediate halt to the process of deleting names from electoral rolls. CJP has also called for the January 2025 electoral roll to be restored until the verification process is completed. It has further demanded that all records related to the process be handed over to the Supreme Court or an independent judicial committee.
The Election Commission has also faced political protests over the broader controversy. Congress workers staged demonstrations in several cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Bengaluru and Dehradun. Reports also said that some protesters were taken into custody during the demonstrations.
Questions have additionally been raised over alleged differences among election commissioners. Reports have claimed that two election commissioners objected to some decisions taken by the Chief Election Commissioner during the previous 10 months. The official record and responses from the Election Commission remain relevant to understanding these claims.
CJP has also called for changes to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other election commissioners. The organisation has demanded a new and transparent framework with wider participation from civil society.
The October 2 protest is therefore expected to focus on several issues, including CJP's demand for the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, an independent review of the SIR process, transparency in electoral-roll deletions and greater accountability in the functioning of the Election Commission.
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