Amid the mounting chaos over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday (October 1) questioned the Election Commission of India (ECI) on who authorised changes to the online Form 6 used for voter registration and whether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was pressured to implement them.
Who at the ECI ordered it?
In a post on X, Gandhi asked whether Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) was pressured into doing this. "The online Form 6 was changed illegally - as the EC's own Commissioners have recorded. Who at the ECI ordered Tata Consultancy Services to make that change?" Gandhi said.
"Who at TCS signed off on it? And were they pressured into doing it?" he said on X.
EC removes additional Form 6 declaration
Rahul Gandhi's remark came after the Election Commission removed an additional SIR-related declaration from the online voter enrolment Form 6 in states where the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls has been completed.
In states where the SIR has been completed, the additional declaration has been removed from the ECINET app and portal, as well as from the respective Chief Electoral Officer portals. Applicants seeking enrolment are now required to fill only the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
In states and Union territories where the SIR exercise is still underway, the additional declaration remains available on the ECINET portal. Under the declaration, new applicants are required to provide details linking themselves, their parents or grandparents to electoral rolls prepared during an earlier SIR.
Save democracy' marches
The remarks came a day after the opposition INDIA bloc announced joint "Save Democracy" marches across all districts and five major rallies. The bloc also demanded that future elections be conducted using ballot papers and appealed to the Supreme Court to expedite cases related to the SIR and alleged electoral irregularities.
At a meeting attended by leaders of 19 political parties and lasting more than three-and-a-half hours, the opposition grouping decided that all its MPs would march to the Election Commission on October 6. The leaders also plan to meet the President to raise concerns over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.
The INDIA bloc also discussed its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and said it would continue its campaign until the demand is met.
The INDIA bloc meeting came days after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders on the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
Under fire over the red flags raised by two of its commissioners over the SIR process, the EC has asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution and all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.
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