New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Sunday rejected the Election Commission's September 26 statement on its functioning and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, saying that it failed to address the serious issues raised by recent disclosures.
The Left party reiterated its demand for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
In a statement, the CPI(M) Politburo said the concerns raised by opposition parties and civil society organisations over the SIR process have been reinforced by disclosure of objections within the Commission itself.
"The Election Commission of India's (ECI) statement issued on September 26 does not address the serious questions raised by disclosures about the Commission's functioning and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls," the Politburo said.
"The Indian Express reported that the two Election Commissioners repeatedly raised concerns over how new voters were being enrolled, how names were deleted, how access to the electoral database was centralised, and how electoral procedures were changed, including illegal changes to Form 6," it said.
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The CPI(M) said the concerns raised by opposition parties and civil society organisations arose in the context of the "enforced SIR process across the country" and had "only been reinforced by disclosures from within the Commission itself".
"The core issue is whether the electoral process is being conducted transparently, in accordance with law, and with adequate safeguards against the wrongful exclusion of eligible voters," it said.
"The ECI's statement neither addresses nor denies these substantial issues," the party said, adding, "Nor does it speak of accountability for the severe hardships inflicted on citizens by the whimsical and authoritarian acts of one person or a group acting at the behest of the ruling dispensation."
The party said CEC Gyanesh Kumar should be held accountable and demanded his resignation.
"Against this backdrop, we reiterate our demand for the immediate resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. If he does not resign, he should be impeached for misconduct. The SIR process must also be halted immediately," the CPI(M) said.
"Gyanesh Kumar must be held accountable. He must go, particularly in the light of new allegations levelled against him by a senior (retd) IAS officer from Keralam," it said.
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The Indian Express report published on September 23 said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders concerning the SIR exercise, including changes to the statutory Form 6, handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls and centralised control over the electoral roll database.
The Election Commission, in its statement issued on Saturday after a meeting attended by all three commissioners, asserted that all SIR orders had received unanimous approval of the Commission.
It also announced measures including home visits by booth-level officers for people facing notices over unmapped and logical discrepancies, help desks and special camps, and extension of claims and objections deadlines in Delhi and Maharashtra.
