After reports of differences among the election commissioners, a meeting of the Central Election Commission was held on Saturday in which Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi attended.
In this meeting, many important decisions were taken regarding Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter list and electoral processes.
The Election Commission has issued a press statement regarding this meeting in which information about important decisions taken in the meeting has been given.
However, the Congress party has said that this press note could not answer important questions.
Whereas BJP has accused Rahul Gandhi of 'lying'. While NDA's key partner Chandrababu Naidu said that 'the unanimous clarification issued by the Election Commission removes all the misconceptions related to this matter.'
The opposition intensified its demand for impeachment against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar following The Indian Express investigative report on differences among election commissioners.
Now many decisions have been taken in the Election Commission meeting held on Saturday.
Giving information about the meeting, Election Commission Director General (Media) Ashish Goyal said that on September 26, a meeting of the Election Commission of India was held at 3 o'clock in the day at the Election House in Delhi.
He said, "Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi were present in today's meeting. The Commission took many decisions unanimously in the meeting."
The issue of SIR has been addressed as the most prominent in the decisions taken in the Election Commission meeting. It has been said in the decisions-
For voters who have been issued notices due to discrepancy in nomination or for other reasons, BLOs will visit their homes and collect the documents and upload them on the ECInet portal. In such cases, normally voters will not be called for hearing in the ERO or AERO office.
District Election Officers (DEOs) should set up special camps and support centers for people living in night shelters, labourers, poor and homeless citizens so that the names of more and more eligible voters can be added to the list.
The declaration attached with Form 6 for SIR has been upheld by the Supreme Court. For non-SIR period, forms under Voters Registration Rules, 1960 will be applicable.
Field officers have been given the facility to use the eCInet system as per their legal rights. A committee headed by the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner will re-examine ECINET to ensure that the system adheres to the provisions of the Acts and Rules.
On the request of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi, the last date for filing claims and objections has been extended to 30 October 2026, while the deadline for their disposal has been extended till 30 November 2026. Apart from this, the deadline for filing claims and objections in Maharashtra has been extended to October 12, 2026.
The Election Commission said that the process of special intensive vetting has been completed in 20 states and union territories including Bihar and West Bengal.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Kheda said that the Election Commission's press note failed to answer the questions. He wrote on X, "Today's press note of the Election Commission is very weak, incomplete and has come very late."
Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad held a press conference and accused Rahul Gandhi of lying and said that the SIR process is approved by the Supreme Court.
