Opposition seeks CEC's removal amid fresh SIR row

Opposition parties sharpened attacks on the Election Commission after an Indian Express report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to electoral-roll decisions taken without their knowledge. TMC MP Derek O'Brien urged a Rajya Sabha motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar, saying over 60 MPs wrote to the chairman five months ago. The poll body said all decisions were unanimous.

Written by AI from News18 — India · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 23 Sept 2026, 12:53 pm IST

Source

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#election commission#sir#opposition#gyanesh kumar#electoral rolls

Desk check · some claims need care

What the desk checked (5)

Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions taken without their knowledge — Attributed in source to an Indian Express report; not independently confirmed, EC is cited as saying all decisions were unanimous
More than 60 Rajya Sabha MPs wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairman five months ago seeking a motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar — Attributed to TMC MP Derek O'Brien; figure appears in source, no document cited
A new Form 6 question on whether an applicant's parents appeared on the previous SIR roll was added without the required rule amendment; Sandhu called it 'unauthorised and ILLEGAL' — Quote and detail sourced to the same newspaper report, attributed
TMC alleges Seema Khanna admitted software 'flaws' in WhatsApp chats and that screenshots exist — Unverified allegation by a political party about a named individual; no evidence presented in source, handle with caution
A July administrative order on IT files was issued without informing the commissioners and was struck down the next day after they wrote to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan — Reported detail attributed to the newspaper report; no official confirmation in source

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Political Analyst

Until now the Opposition's SIR campaign could be dismissed as partisan noise; a report of objections recorded from inside the Commission itself gives it what it lacked — an institutional peg. That is why the TMC has resurrected a five-month-old Rajya Sabha letter and is pushing a removal motion against the CEC: the aim is not to win a vote but to make a political statement. With the poll panel insisting all decisions were unanimous, this now becomes a contest over credibility rather than evidence.

Congress, TMC, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT) and AAP speaking on the same issue on the same day signals an attempt to turn SIR into a single, shared Opposition plank.
Removing a CEC is a deliberately difficult constitutional process; even with a letter from over 60 MPs, the Opposition lacks the numbers, so the motion is primarily a messaging device.
For the TMC the issue is doubly useful, letting it fuse the West Bengal roll dispute and the row over its name and symbol into one 'misuse of institutions' narrative.
The natural response from the BJP and the Commission is that internal disagreement is routine in any collegial body and that final decisions were unanimous — which the poll panel has already said.
By raising the removal of a Supreme Court judge from the commissioners' selection committee, Congress is widening the fight from individuals to a structural reform demand.

What to watch — Watch whether the motion is actually moved in the Rajya Sabha, how the matter travels through the courts, and whether the remaining Opposition parties consolidate behind one platform.

The objections rest on a single news report that has not been independently verified here, and nothing in the story establishes that any voter roll was actually manipulated.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 6 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

An Indian Express report said the two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, put on record at least 14 objections in 10 months to electoral-roll decisions they said were taken without their knowledge, including over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the EC's ECINet software. Opposition parties seized on the report to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with TMC's Derek O'Brien pressing for a Rajya Sabha removal motion backed by a letter signed by over 60 MPs five months ago. The Election Commission's position, as reflected in the coverage, is that all its decisions were unanimous. The row runs alongside disputes over the West Bengal rolls and the freezing of the TMC's name and symbol.

Key facts

The Indian Express report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions taken without their knowledge.
TMC MP Derek O'Brien said more than 60 Rajya Sabha MPs had, five months ago, written to the Rajya Sabha chairman seeking a motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
The poll body's response, as reported, was that all decisions were unanimous.
A new question was added to Form 6 asking whether an applicant's parents appeared on the previous SIR roll; both commissioners said in May this required amending the Registration of Electors Rules. Sandhu called it "unauthorised and ILLEGAL".
A July administrative order that could have altered control over IT files was issued without informing either commissioner; one commissioner's request for the file was refused.
Sandhu and Joshi wrote separately to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan calling the order a "clear violation" of the law governing the Commission; the order was struck down the next day.
The report said the full Commission did not meet between May and August.
The report cited an instance where 97 voters were found eligible by an officer but could not be added because the software did not allow the decision to be recorded.

Timeline

December 2025TMC National General Secretary and MP Abhishek Banerjee publicly raised the issue of Seema Khanna's role, claiming WhatsApp chats showed she admitted to software "flaws".
May (year as in report)Both Election Commissioners said the new Form 6 question required an amendment to the Registration of Electors Rules; Sandhu called the change "unauthorised and ILLEGAL".
May to AugustThe full Commission did not meet, according to the report.
JulyAn administrative order that could have altered control over IT files was issued without informing either commissioner; struck down a day after the commissioners wrote to the Cabinet Secretary.
About five months before the storyOver 60 Rajya Sabha MPs wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairman seeking a motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
September 23, 2026Story published; Opposition leaders demand CEC's removal after the report on 14 objections; Jairam Ramesh says Abhishek Singhvi will brief media at 1 pm.

Who has a stake

Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar — Faces Opposition demands for a Rajya Sabha removal motion, suspension and legal action over roll decisions allegedly taken without the commissioners' knowledge.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi — Reportedly recorded 14 objections and sought a software audit; their exclusion from decisions raises questions about collegial functioning of the Commission.
Election Commission of India — Institutional credibility during large-scale electoral-roll revision; says all decisions were unanimous.
Opposition parties (Congress, TMC, SP, Shiv Sena UBT, AAP) — Allege voter-roll manipulation and an "invisible hand"; seek Supreme Court scrutiny and the CEC's removal.
Voters in West Bengal, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana — Inclusion or deletion from electoral rolls, with one cited case of 97 eligible voters who could not be added due to software limits.
Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan — Received separate letters from both commissioners terming the July order a "clear violation" of the law governing the Commission.
Supreme Court — Urged by Akhilesh Yadav to take suo motu cognisance; had directed the review of retained voters in West Bengal.

Why it matters

The Election Commission is a multi-member constitutional body where the CEC and two commissioners decide together, with a majority prevailing when there is no unanimity; reported exclusion of two members from key roll decisions goes to the heart of its internal checks. With voter additions and deletions allegedly controlled by the EC's IT division in Delhi rather than local officers, the dispute raises questions about who effectively controls the electoral roll during a nationwide revision exercise.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

Election Commissioners named in the row: Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi; CEC: Gyanesh Kumar.
ECINet is the EC software at the centre of the reported dissent over electoral-roll revision.
Form 6 is the application form for enrolment as a new voter; a new question on parents' presence on the previous SIR roll was added.
Changes of the kind disputed would require amending the Registration of Electors Rules, as per the commissioners.
Under the law, the CEC and two Election Commissioners decide together, with a majority prevailing when there is no unanimity.
Congress flagged the removal of a Supreme Court judge's role from the committee selecting Election Commissioners.

Mains framing

The reported 14 on-record objections by two Election Commissioners over 10 months reframe the SIR controversy from a partisan dispute into a question of institutional process inside a constitutional body. The statutory design makes the Commission multi-member, with decisions taken jointly and by majority where unanimity fails; if, as the report claims, the full Commission did not meet between May and August, if requests for a software audit went unanswered, and if a July order touching control over IT files was issued without informing the commissioners, then the internal check built into that design was weakened at precisely the time of a large-scale electoral-roll revision. The substantive concern is centralisation: voter-list access reportedly controlled by the EC's IT division in Delhi rather than EROs and AEROs, with one cited case of 97 eligible voters who could not be recorded because the software did not permit it. Opposition demands range from a Rajya Sabha removal motion and suspension to suo motu judicial cognisance, while Congress separately questions the commissioners' selection process after the removal of a Supreme Court judge from the selection committee. A credible way forward, on the facts available, lies in what the commissioners themselves sought: an independent audit of the roll software, restoration of decision-making authority to field officers, rule-based rather than administrative changes to forms like Form 6, and documented full-Commission deliberation with transparency on who authorises deletions and appeals.

Key terms

SIR (Special Intensive Revision): The large-scale electoral-roll revision exercise at the centre of the dispute over voter additions and deletions.
ECINet: The Election Commission software used in electoral-roll work, over which the two commissioners reportedly sought an audit.
Form 6: Voter enrolment application form; a new question on whether an applicant's parents were on the previous SIR roll was added.
Registration of Electors Rules: The rules governing voter registration, which the commissioners said had to be amended before the Form 6 change.
ERO / AERO / BLO: Electoral Registration Officer, Assistant ERO and Booth Level Officer — field functionaries who verify voters and process roll changes.
Rajya Sabha removal motion: The parliamentary route Opposition MPs invoked, via a letter to the Rajya Sabha chairman, to seek the CEC's removal.

Practice questions

The Election Commission of India is a multi-member body, yet its internal decision-making is largely unlegislated in detail. Examine, with reference to the reported dissent over electoral-roll revision, how institutional safeguards within the Commission can be strengthened.
Centralisation of electoral-roll technology can improve uniformity but weaken local verification. Critically analyse this trade-off in the context of the Special Intensive Revision.
Discuss the constitutional and political implications of Opposition demands for the removal of a Chief Election Commissioner, and the safeguards that govern such removal.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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