Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, intensifying the ongoing Rahul Gandhi Gyanesh Kumar SIR Row. Gandhi made the remarks in Delhi amid controversy surrounding the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a report about objections raised by two Election Commissioners.“I demand Gyanesh Kumar to resign immediately,” Gandhi said, alleging that the CEC had attacked the election system. His remarks came after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months concerning decisions and orders linked to the poll panel’s functioning.What is the Election Commission SIR row?The Special Intensive Revision SIR is an exercise by the Election Commission to review and update electoral rolls. The current controversy intensified after The Indian Express reported that Sandhu and Joshi had objected to several decisions that they said were taken without their knowledge.The reported concerns included changes to Form 6, which is used for voter registration, access to electoral databases and other issues connected with the revision of voter lists. The report said some objections described particular changes as “unauthorised” or “illegal”.The investigation also reported concerns regarding the centralisation of access to electoral databases and other technical and procedural matters involving electoral-roll management.What did Rahul Gandhi say about Gyanesh Kumar?Addressing the issue, Rahul Gandhi directly targeted Gyanesh Kumar and called for his resignation.Gandhi said the reported objections showed serious concerns about the functioning of the Election Commission. His CEC resignation demand comes amid wider opposition criticism of the SIR exercise and calls for greater transparency in electoral-roll revision.Gandhi also discussed the political impact of anti-incumbency during his remarks. Referring to his experience of growing up in a political family, he argued that governments and political leaders across India have faced anti-incumbency over time.He cited former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as an example, recalling that her government faced significant political pressure after the 1971 Bangladesh war despite its popularity.What did Rahul Gandhi say about Modi and Shah?During the same press conference, Gandhi discussed what he described as the broader pattern of anti-incumbency in Indian politics.He referred to Congress leaders and regional political parties and then named Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP while making his argument about political accountability.These comments formed part of Gandhi’s wider political criticism surrounding the Rahul Gandhi Election Commission dispute.What has the Election Commission said?The Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that internal objections demonstrate a breakdown in its decision-making process.In its response to the Indian Express investigation, the ECI said differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberation. It said the final decisions and instructions issued during the previous year, including those related to electoral-roll revision and SIR, were unanimous decisions of the full Commission."The Commission also said that focusing on selected internal notes over a 10-month period without considering the wider body of approvals, decisions and initiatives presents only one part of the institutional process." Why is the dispute significant?The CEC Gyanesh Kumar SIR dispute has now become a wider political and institutional controversy. Opposition parties have called for Kumar’s removal and questioned the conduct of the SIR exercise following the reported objections by the two Election Commissioners."At the same time, the Election Commission maintains that its final decisions were taken unanimously."The dispute therefore involves two separate issues: the reported internal objections during the decision-making process and the ECI’s position that the final decisions were approved by the full Commission. Rahul Gandhi’s demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation is part of the political response to these developments, while the underlying questions about the SIR process and the Election Commission’s internal functioning remain subjects of continuing public and legal debate.Also Read : Advocate Balraj Malik Demands Arrest of CEC Gyanesh Kumar After Indian Express Report
