New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday mounted a scathing attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, asserting that the "wisest thing" the head of the poll body could do is step down immediately following reports of internal dissent and controversies surrounding the voter roll revision process.
Speaking with ANI, Chidambaram asserted that Gyanesh Kumar's departure is inevitable as opposition pressure mounts. "I have no doubt that Gyanesh Kumar has to resign someday or the other. It would be good for him to resign early, but if he doesn't, the protest will continue," he said, emphasising that the INDIA bloc along with several civil society groups will intensify their demonstrations until he steps aside.
"The INDIA bloc protest will continue. The other groups are protesting, and he will be compelled to resign. The wisest thing he can do is to resign now," he added.
Chidambaram highlighted recent developments involving senior poll officials across several states, pointing to statements from the Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of Maharashtra and Karnataka, as well as the premature retirement request filed by Odisha's CEO.
Calling out the central poll panel's conduct, Chidambaram urged state-level election officials across the country to come forward before judicial interventions begin:
"Before other High Courts or the Supreme Court start inquiring or calling the CEOs of all states, I would urge them to speak out-what instructions they received, when they received the instructions, and how they complied... It's obvious the SIR process is illegal. Did they point it out? Despite pointing it out, did the Election Commission or the Chief Election Commissioner overrule them? They should speak now. This is the time to speak."
When asked whether the demand extended to the other members of the Election Commission, Chidambaram clarified that the opposition is currently focusing its stance strictly where evidence exists. "If we know that the roles of the other two Election Commissioners are also doubtful or illegal, we will ask for their resignation. But at the moment, there is no evidence of that," he noted.
Addressing the government's stance, Chidambaram alleged that the administration is shielding the CEC behind constitutional autonomy. "I don't know who's saving him. The government sometimes defends the Election Commissioner. Sometimes they say they have nothing to do with the Election Commissioner; it is a constitutional body. But clearly, somebody is protecting him. Somebody is encouraging him not to resign. But eventually, he has to resign," he insisted, warning that protests will only expand until the CEC steps down.
This comes after reports that, over the last 10 months, the two Election Commissioners -- Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Sandhu had formally recorded their objections 14 times on key files. It wasn't about routine disagreements; the note-sheets, according to The Indian Express reports, showed concerns that some decisions were being pushed through without a full consensus in the three-member panel.
That internal friction spilt out when the Commission launched the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. Formally, SIR is meant to be a housekeeping exercise, cleaning duplicate entries, removing deceased voters, adding new eligible voters. But this time, it triggered street protests in several states.
Opposition parties alleged that the revision led to large-scale, untraceable deletions, names vanishing from rolls without proper notice to the voter, particularly in booths where Booth Level Officers said they were under pressure to meet deletion targets.
The issue became political quickly. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) joined opposition parties in nationwide demonstrations. Their argument was common: that the poll panel's actions were compromising its institutional independence and, intentionally or not, helping the ruling party by pruning voter lists in opposition-leaning areas.
The Election Commission, for its part, has pushed back on both points. On the internal dissent, the panel says differing views are normal deliberation in any collegial institution, and that final decisions, including the SIR, were ultimately approved unanimously.
On the deletions, it says no name can be deleted without due process, a field verification, a notice, and a Form 7 order and that the revision is necessary to keep rolls clean ahead of the polls.
