NDA Ally Chirag Paswan Demands EC Explanation on Voter Revision Row
NDA ally says EC must address public doubts over electoral rolls and poll process
New Delhi: Pressure continued to mount on the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr Gyanesh Kumar, as NDA ally, Lok Jan Shakti leader, and Union Minister Chirag Paswan asked him to "come up with an explanation" over alleged irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
"If the people start losing trust in the electoral system, that will not augur well for democracy and, therefore, I think the Election Commission must come out with its clarification more forcefully. It need not respond to what Rahul Gandhi and his associates are saying. But it must dispel misgivings in the minds of the people,” Mr Paswan said in Bihar.
He added, "Let me make it clear that as part of the government, I do not intend to defend what is a constitutional body. I am also not much worried about the allegations made by the opposition which will always take a stand that suits it politically.”
Meanwhile, facing flak over SIR and other issues, the Election Commission of India postponed CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s youth outreach programmes in Meerut and other places. The EC had scheduled two Electoral Literacy Club (ELC) regional conferences in Uttar Pradesh that Mr Gyanesh Kumar was to address. The first event was planned in Meerut on Friday, followed by a Gen-Z engagement programme in Varanasi on September 28.
An ECI official said the postponement was decided on September 21 and was not linked to the ongoing controversy surrounding disagreements among Election Commissioners. The official cited factors including venue availability, schedules of senior authorities and natural conditions. The events are part of the ECI’s ELC 2.0 voter-education initiative ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh took a dig at the new ECI rules and compared the policies of former PM Mr Rajeev Gandhi and Mr Narendra Modi saying, “This is a Tale of Two PMs: One PM got Parliament in its regular Winter Session in Dec 1988 to amend Article 326 of the Constitution to reduce the minimum age for voting from 21 years to 18 years. This was a PM who empowered the youth. There is another PM who has ensured that the Special Summary Revisions of electoral rolls has been stopped since 2024 to ensure that Gen Z voters are not enrolled. This is a PM who fears the youth having dashed their hopes and aspirations. One PM gave Gen Z the vote, the other is determined to snatch it away through underhand means.”
The ECI tried to clear air on issue of adding a declaration to the form for new voters seeking to enrol in the electoral rolls and making the registration process difficult. The poll panel officials said that as many as 2.37 crore electors in the 18-28 years age bracket were added since the SIR exercise was rolled out in Bihar in June last year.
After the change in the online form, it's not only the existing voters who must show details of their parents in SIR to remain on the electoral rolls, those seeking inclusion in the voter list also have to cite details of the exercise. By issuing instructions, the Election Commission has made it mandatory to attach SIR details of parents for new voters filling Form 6 for inclusion in the electoral rolls. A poll panel functionary underlined that the declaration was added through instructions and that Form 6 has not been amended.
Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected to these changes, calling them "illegal" and "unauthorised", arguing that they would negatively impact new voters, The Indian Express recently reported.
