Congress Demands Resignation of Election Commission Chief Amid Controversy Over Voter Registration Process
Congress criticizes the Election Commissions response to voter registration issues, calling for the resignation of its chief amid ongoing protests.
New Delhi, September 26 (Daily Kiran) : The Congress party has launched a strong critique of the Election Commission‘s recent press release regarding the Special Intensive Review (SIR) process, following revelations in a newspaper and widespread protests across the nation. On September 26, Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh stated that the press note failed to directly refute the allegations or dismiss its findings as baseless. He noted that paragraphs 3(i) and 3(ii) appeared to downplay the issue defensively.
Ramesh pointed out that after an incident in Goa, the Commission announced that it was initiating the process to reinstate 81 out of 97 voters who were removed. “In other words, you disenfranchise voters through a broken and corrupt system, and only when caught, you claim they are being reinstated,” he remarked.
The Congress leader criticized the Commission for justifying its actions by referencing a Supreme Court order from May 27, 2026, arguing that this directive predates the recent disclosures. He emphasized that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) cannot escape accountability for the malicious removal of targeted voters and the subsequent distress, expenses, and time wasted by entire families.
Ramesh raised questions about the Commission’s extension of the claim-objection deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra, asking why voters in Karnataka, Telangana, Bihar, and West Bengal, whose names were removed due to one individual’s corruption, should not receive answers.
The press note indicated that experts would be involved in reviewing the ECI Net portal. However, Congress dismissed this as a meaningless security measure, asserting that the real concern lies not in technical robustness but in centralization, which hinders grassroots voter engagement. This move, they argue, confirms the concerns raised by the other election commissioners.
Furthermore, Congress accused the Commission of deliberately targeting Gen Z voters by making illegal changes to Form-6 since mid-July 2026, which were neither approved nor acknowledged by Parliament. This has placed an undue burden on voters to provide details about their parents or grandparents.
Ramesh outlined several issues that require addressing: (1) unilateral decisions by the CEC, (2) open hostility and bias against the opposition, (3) complicity in “vote theft” by the ruling regime, (4) targeted attacks on the registration of Gen Z voters, and (5) corruption exposed through negligence in cleaning the voter list.
The Congress party asserted that the CEC believes it can hide behind bureaucracy and protocols, but they have been exposed and are now fearful as the public seeks accountability. They demand an immediate suspension of the SIR process, which has systematically disenfranchised millions of Indians, and state that anything less than the resignation or prosecution of the CEC is unacceptable.
