Kapil Sibal Questions CEC’s Authority, Seeks SIR Suspension and Poll Review

Kapil Sibal Seeks Suspension of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Halt to SIR Process

New Delhi, September 23: Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has called for the immediate suspension of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Sibal’s demand came after a report by The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and orders linked to electoral-roll procedures. The reported issues included changes to Form 6, centralisation of electoral-roll software controls, voter-deletion appeals in West Bengal and problems concerning voter additions in Goa. 

Sibal alleged that the CEC did not have the support of a majority within the three-member poll panel and questioned whether decisions were being taken in accordance with the Election Commission’s majority-based functioning. He also demanded that the SIR process be stopped and called for the cancellation of elections held earlier, including the Bihar polls, according to reports. 

However, the Election Commission has rejected suggestions of an internal rift. ECI sources said that decisions concerning SIR and other matters were taken unanimously and had the approval of all three commissioners. 

The dispute has intensified the political debate over the SIR exercise, electoral-roll revisions and the functioning of the Election Commission.