New Delhi [India], September 23 (ANI): The Election Commission on Wednesday responded to the media report by the Indian Express that had said that decisions taken on the Special Intensive Regulation (SIR) process were objected to by two of the three Election Commissioners.
According to the report, “Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued without their knowledge.”
In a statement, the commission said that all orders by the body carry full legal sanction and any queries raised by members at the stage of drafting procedures were standard practice.
“The ECI is a constitutional body that functions under the strict mandate of Article 324 of the Constitution, statutory rules and established institutional conventions. The Commission operates as a multi-member constitutional body. Written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks-and-balances are standard, ongoing practices designed to ensure complete transparency, legal compliance and operational rigour. All actions of ECI have been in accordance of laws and instructions of the Commission. All official orders, decisions and administrative directions issued by the Commission carry full legal sanctions and follow established statutory procedures… Any operational queries or inputs raised by Commission members during draft stages are part of standard administrative practice aimed at safeguarding voter rights. The suggestions given by the Commissioners were for further improving the electoral processes.
The Commission further said that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberation in any institution.
“They are a part of the decision-making process before a final decision is taken. Not only the three Commissioners, but every officer of the Commission is fully authorized to give his suggestions to the Commission for improving the electoral system. Highlighting certain specific internal notes/observations spread over the period of 10 months while overlooking the much larger body of approvals, decisions, instructions and initiatives give only one part of the picture. In recent months, the Commission has taken numerous decisions, issued instructions, introduced around 40 new initiatives and undertaken many electoral reforms including the conduct of Electoral roll revision (including SIR) across the country. All these decisions are an outcome of the unanimous decisions of the full Commission in the past one year,” the EC said.
The commission further played up the conduct of various elections including those to five state assemblies and said it was committed to executing its constitutional duties.
“The Commission has recently successfully conducted major elections of Bihar, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal and election-related exercises during this period. This work involved wide-ranging administrative and operational machinery and many Commission approvals and instructions. The Commission’s digital platforms, such as ECINet, operate under strict data security protocols to prevent unauthorized tampering, manipulation, etc. IT security checks and audit controls are standard cybersecurity measures implemented across national databases. Statutory authorities, including Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and District Election Officers (DEOs), function as per statutory powers for registration and deletion under law. The Election Commission of India remains fully committed to executing its constitutional duties with complete integrity, recognizing its vital role in advancing our democracy,” the statement noted.
The Election Commission’s statement comes after a political controversy exploded on Wednesday following the Indian Express report.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi questioned the commission and CEC Gyanesh Kumar saying that “vote chori” is a “crime against the Indian people” and an attack on the Constitution.
In a post shared on X, Rahul Gandhi said, “Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served.”
In a video shared by him, Gandhi addressed the Election Commission and election officials, saying, “I am clearly telling the Election Commission and election officers: What you are doing is wrong. This is treason, it is against the nation. Do not forget this. The time will come! We will catch you! You will not be spared.”
The rhetoric against the commission and the CEC in particular was also echoed by AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal, UBT Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, CPI-M MP John Brittas and SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav.
All opposition parties in unison have called for the removal of the CEC alleging that the commission was attempting to hijack the electoral process and putting democracy under threat. (ANI)