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Members of NSUI (National Students' Union of India) on Thursday held a protest against the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Delhi.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of being hijacked and demanded an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, along with the removal and criminal investigation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Speaking to reporters here, Surjewala alleged that the SIR exercise had resulted in the deletion of 13 crore voters across 19 states and claimed that Karnataka alone had seen 1.08 crore deletions, with another 43 lakh notices issued. These figures were presented by Surjewala as part of the Congress's allegations; the Election Commission has disputed the broader characterisation of its functioning and said its decisions were taken unanimously. We are here with an extremely important issue that affects our polity, our nation, our state of Karnataka, and our people. Democracy is founded upon the right to vote of every individual, Surjewala said. A major part of his criticism concerned Form 6, which is used for registration of new voters. Surjewala alleged that changes to the form had imposed additional requirements on new voters and questioned the legal authority for such changes. He claimed that the changes could particularly affect young voters, alleging that Gen Z could be denied registration. The Election Commission has maintained that its electoral-roll procedures operate under the applicable statutory framework. Surjewala also alleged that the CEC had independently filed 16 lakh appeals in West Bengal against voter enrolments, calling the development unprecedented.This is a classic case of CEC defying ECI, the Chief Election Commissioner defying the Election Commission of India, he said. The dispute over SIR and the internal functioning of the ECI is also expected to figure prominently in the Congress Working Committee meeting scheduled for September 29 in New Delhi. (ANI)
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