New Delhi, Sep 26 — Claiming that the ECI has been forced into a defensive posture, the Congress on Saturday reiterated its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and sought the immediate suspension of the SIR of electoral rolls.
Criticising a press release issued by the ECI after its afternoon meeting to quell reports of internal differences, the Congress described SIR as a drive for “massive disenfranchisement” of several crores of electors.
“Nothing short of the CEC’s resignation or prosecution will suffice,” said Jairam Ramesh, Congress MP and General Secretary (Communications), referring to the alleged big differences within the Election Commission.
In a message on X, Ramesh said that in the wake of media reports exposing disagreement among ECI functionaries and the nationwide protests that have followed, seeking the removal of “Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the Election Commission of India (ECI) has now come out with a press note on September 26th, 2026.
“First, the Press note does not directly deny the story or its findings. It makes a defensive attempt to downplay the same in paragraph 3(i) and 3(ii) but does not say that the allegations are baseless,” said Ramesh, pointing to the issues flagged in media reports.
“Second, in the case of Goa, after having been caught out, the ECI has sheepishly stated that Form 6 has already been filled out for inclusion by 81 of the 97 deleted voters. To put this another way, you disenfranchise voters through a broken and corrupt system, and when caught, say that they are being added back,” he said.
“Third, it seeks to justify the Commission’s actions by appealing to the Order of the Supreme Court dated May 27th, 2026. The Order, which was pronounced well before the recent revelations, will not save the CEC from the malicious deletion of targeted voters, from the incompetence that has resulted in citizens being wiped off the rolls, for the crores lost in both expenses and person-hours due to the confusion and harassment caused to entire families,” said the Congress MP.
“Fourth, it extends the deadlines for voter registration in Delhi and Maharashtra. But what happens to the voters of Karnataka and Telangana? What happens to the voters disenfranchised in Bihar and West Bengal? Do the voters of these and other states who were deleted due to one man’s corruption not deserve answers?” he said.
“Fifth, the Press Release also states the ECI will now involve experts from IIT/IIIT to review the ECINET portal and submit a report to ensure it complies with rules. Aside from being a meaningless safeguard (since the concern is not about the technical soundness but rather the centralisation which prevents voter addition at ground level), this confirms the concerns attributed to the two other Election Commissioners per the reportage,” said Ramesh.
“Sixth, the Press Note avoids answering the questions regarding the deliberate targeting of Gen Z voters. The ECI has no answer for its targeted disenfranchisement, beginning mid-July 2026 through wholly illegal changes made to Form 6 (unseen and unapproved by Parliament) which placed an unfair burden on them to find and disclose their parents and/or grandparents’ details,” he said.
“The revelations regarding (1) the unilateral nature of decision-making by the CEC, (2) his open hatred and bias against the Opposition resulting in a clear bias, (3) his willing participation and abetment in Vote Chori by the ruling regime, (4) his specific attack to prevent the enrollment of Gen Z voters, (5) his corruption exposed ironically by his negligence in purging and pruning voter lists, need to be answered for,” he said.
Ramesh added, “The CEC thinks he can hide behind ‘bureaucratise’ and protocol. He stands exposed and is now petrified as an entire country seeks to hold him accountable.”
“The ongoing SIR, which has turned out to be a method of massive disenfranchisement of several crores of Indians, must be suspended immediately without delay. In the meantime, nothing short of the CEC’s resignation or prosecution will suffice,” said Ramesh.