ECI rejects sidelining allegations, terming internal dissent standard practice

…in the last ten months about not being kept in the loop regarding decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. In a detailed statement, the ECI attempted to bury internal disquiet, stating that “ any operational queries or inputs raised by Commission members during the draft stages are part of standard administrative practice aimed at safeguarding voter rights. ” EC’s Dissent The Commission also stated that “the suggestions given by the Commissioners were for further improving the electoral processes.” However, Election Commissioners Dr Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Johri,…

…being knocked off the electoral rolls in different States and Union Territories. Reacting to the reports, OP Rawat observed that changes to the statutory voter registration Form 6 are “absolutely wrong and illegal”. “ This is an unfortunate situation. Such a thing has perhaps rarely happened in the Election Commission. I have also been there, but I saw that decisions were always taken unanimously ,” OP Rawat, who was the CEC in 2018, said. “Through SIR, it has created a kind of Frankenstein that has instilled fear in the minds of voters everywhere. This is not good. It is very unfortunate for our democracy,”…

…in files in August that the change was “unauthorised and illegal” and should be removed immediately. Quraishi, who served as CEC from 2010 to 2012, supported the position taken by the present Election Commission. “ If the entire exercise of revising the electoral rolls has been illegal, then you cannot hold an election based on an illegal electoral roll ,” Quraishi said. Regarding the controversy over the Commission’s digital platforms, such as ECINet, it was stated that they operate under strict data security protocols to prevent unauthorised tampering and…