SIR must be scrapped, could make ‘mockery’ of India’s democracy, say ex-bureaucrats
· Scroll
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A group of former bureaucrats on Saturday called on the Election Commission to scrap the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
In an open letter, the Constitutional Conduct Group said that the nationwide voter roll revision exercise “needs to be scrapped lest it undermine our commitment to universal adult suffrage, seriously damage the reputation” of the poll panel and “make a mockery of our democracy”.
The letter came amid demands by the Opposition and civil society groups for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the conduct of polls after The Indian Express on Wednesday reported that two election commissioners had objected to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.
The newspaper’s investigation revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected 14 times in 10 months to the poll panel’s decisions about the SIR, saying that some had been taken without their knowledge.
Their objections were reportedly related to the registration of new voters and changes to Form 6, appeals against the inclusion of voters in West Bengal and the handling of voter data in Goa, among other matters. Form 6 is used to register new voters.
In one written objection, Sandhu was quoted as having stated that the poll panel had acted against the advice of...