New Delhi [India], September 23 : A political row erupted on Wednesday after an Indian Express report claimed that two Election Commissioners had raised objections multiple times over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and electoral roll procedures, with Opposition leaders demanding action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, while the BJP defended the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying internal deliberations were part of democratic functioning.
According to the report, "Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions taken and orders issued without their knowledge."
Responding to the Indian Express report, the Election Commission, in a statement, said that all orders by the body carry full legal sanction and any queries raised by members at the stage of drafting procedures were standard practice.
The ECI said, "The ECI is a constitutional body that functions under the strict mandate of Article 324 of the Constitution, statutory rules and established institutional conventions. The Commission operates as a multi-member constitutional body. Written notes, observations, technical suggestions and internal checks-and-balances are standard, ongoing practices designed to ensure complete transparency, legal compliance and operational rigour. All actions of ECI have been in accordance with laws and instructions of the Commission. All official orders, decisions and administrative directions issued by the Commission carry full legal sanctions and follow established statutory procedures."
The Commission further stated that operational queries or inputs raised by members during draft stages were part of standard administrative practice aimed at safeguarding voter rights.
"Any operational queries or inputs raised by Commission members during draft stages are part of standard administrative practice aimed at safeguarding voter rights. The suggestions given by the Commissioners were for further improving the electoral processes," the ECI said, adding that differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberation in any institution.
Reacting to the report, BJP National Spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra defended the functioning of the poll body and said discussions among Election Commissioners reflected democratic functioning.
"Look at the situation: if the three Election Commissioners do not communicate with each other, if there is no exchange of views or consultation, and they simply agree to everything, then the opposition parties claim it is a dictatorship. They say this government appointed these three commissioners; they just say yes. Now, there have been 14 instances of correspondence among the three of them, official deliberations, as far as we gather from the media. It is not as if the Bharatiya Janata Party goes and reads these letters; rather, reports in the media indicate that official deliberations took place among the three, which is a sign of a healthy democracy," he added.
Patra further said, "I would say that today, all the opposition parties have fallen into a trap, the trap of claiming that the Election Commission and the government were acting dictatorially. On the contrary, I would say this is pure democracy. Deliberations are taking place, and the Election Commission has stated very clearly in the very first paragraph of its document that, following all official democratic deliberations, the final outcome, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), was achieved with unanimity."
"In other words, all three Commissioners were unanimous; there was no difference of opinion or dissent among them," he said.
"They were all on the same page. In short, the situation today is that neither the Election Commission of India nor any constitutional body in India is under dictatorial rule; they are functioning democratically and, indeed, upholding the country's democracy. By operating democratically, these constitutional institutions are safeguarding democracy," Patra added.
However, Opposition parties continued their attack on the Election Commission and the CEC.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said, "Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served."
In a video message, Gandhi said, "I am clearly telling the Election Commission and election officers: What you are doing is wrong. This is treason, it is against the nation. Do not forget this. The time will come! We will catch you! You will not be spared."
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also targeted the Election Commission, saying Opposition parties had raised concerns about the poll body's functioning for years.
"For several years now, the Congress Party and many opposition parties have been raising questions about the fairness of elections in the country. We continuously found the role of the Election Commission suspicious. When we raised questions, they were dismissed as a joke. The doors of the Commission were shut," Kharge said in a post on X.
"Today, the same issue has come to light from within the Election Commission itself. Two out of three Election Commissioners objected in writing 14 times. Misuse of Form 6, misuse of software, tampering with voter lists, decisions without transparency—these are all now in front of the country. Then what did CEC Gyanesh Kumar do about these objections?" he asked.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said that any irregularity in elections would be a serious issue for democracy.
"This is an extremely serious issue for our democracy. If there are no elections, then where is democracy? If elections are unfair and rigged in any manner, then the Election Commission is assisting in that. If the Election Commissioner is not only aware of it but also allowing it to happen, then it is a very serious assault on democracy. It is an act of treason," she said.
Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi alleged that the BJP and the Election Commission were functioning through parallel mechanisms.
"The BJP has opened an office for the murder of democracy; on one side, they have positioned the CEC, and on the other, the Home Ministry. Many years ago, that is in 1995, the Supreme Court made it clear that the EC is a majoritarian institution. You might remember, during the time of honourable Seshan Sahab, this legal question arose: whether the CEC is supreme. Do the ECs of the Election Commission not have equal rights, jurisdiction, rights, or constitutional status? And this was clearly answered that all the ECs are equal. The CEC is not above the ECs, just 'first among equals'," Singhvi said.
Congress leader P Chidambaram said the report, if correct, raised questions about both decisions taken by the poll body and the decision-making process.
"The news stories in the Indian Express today, if correct, shake the foundations of the Election Commission of India (ECI). There are two separate points: 1. Decision; and 2. Decision-making process. The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that if the decision-making process is flawed or wrong, the decision will also be flawed or wrong," he said.
Congress MP Manish Tiwari alleged that the reported objections by two Election Commissioners indicated an external influence on the functioning of the poll body.
"If the two Election Commissioners were repeatedly objecting to each and every decision which was being taken with regard to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, and the revision still continued to go on, this means that there is an invisible hand beyond the Election Commission which seems to be running the commission," he said.
"The rules of business of the Election Commission are very clear that all decisions have to be taken either by unanimity or by a majority vote. If two of the Election Commissioners were objecting to these decisions, then obviously it goes to show that the decisions which have been taken—as a consequence of which changes were carried out illegally to Form 6 by way of example, which could have only been done by an amendment to the rules which has to be laid on the floor of Parliament—then these proceedings are per se arbitrary, capricious, and therefore illegal. And thus, the entire SIR exercise needs to be voided ab initio," he added.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also attacked Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Election Commission's functioning had come under question following the report.
"This is such a scandalous story. We had never seen this in our lives. This Election Commissioner must be arrested. He has no moral authority to continue, and the BJP must see that they cannot destroy our Constitution. They cannot demolish democracy," Banerjee said while addressing a press conference.
"They cannot depute their own EROs in the name of the BJP IT team. What we had said earlier has now been completely exposed. Gyanesh Kumar has misused the police and, in coordination with the BJP, they have deputed their own BJP-minded people across the system. Such a scandal has never happened before," she added.
Trinamool Congress general secretary Abhishek Banerjee demanded the removal of the CEC and a court-monitored investigation.
"The CEC must be removed immediately and a court monitored investigation ordered. Disenfranchising lakhs of voters to allegedly benefit one political party strikes at the very foundation of our democracy. Those responsible must be held accountable," Banerjee said in a post on X.
Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the credibility of the Election Commission, alleging that voters supporting his party were "systematically deleted" from electoral rolls without corrective action.
Addressing a press conference in Lucknow, Yadav said, "The Election Commission claims it will strengthen democracy. When such things are happening within the Election Commission itself, where can one place one's trust? In the span of 10 months, various officials have written letters 14 times. Samajwadi Party voters were systematically deleted from the Election Commission's voters list. We brought this to the notice of the Election Commission, but no action was taken against anyone. Rampant malpractice was committed on a massive scale in the by-elections"
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah also reacted to the Indian Express report, saying that the developments raised "many questions" about the functioning of the Election Commission.
Reacting to the report, Omar Abdullah said, "...It raises many questions. We had persistent complaints about the Election Commission's functioning even before the issue of SIR became a national concern. For us, delimitation was a major issue; we believed the process was opaque and flawed, designed entirely to benefit one political party and its allies. If people lose faith in elections, what remains of democracy? Elections are the very foundation of democracy; if public trust in them erodes, why would people participate at all? I believe the Election Commission members and the Government of India need to reflect on this..." Omar Abdullah said.
He further said, "If this isn't an attack on the Constitution, what is? Rahul was absolutely right. Now, we must wait to see what measures will be taken to rectify this." 
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the Election Commission was being run by one individual and demanded action against the CEC.
"The Election Commission comprises three commissioners, and decisions are made by consensus. No single individual can issue orders; all three are equal, with the CEC merely chairing meetings. Yet, for the past few years, Gyanesh Kumar has been running the Commission single-handedly, issuing orders to subordinate officials without the requisite authority," Kejriwal said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut demanded immediate action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the Election Commission's functioning had come under question.
"Gyanesh Kumar should be suspended, and legal action should be taken against him. In this country, elections have become a farce. ECI comes under the Home Ministry," Raut told reporters in New Delhi.
Stepping up his attack, Raut targeted Union Home Minister Amit Shah and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to remove him from the Cabinet.
"The number one criminal is Amit Shah. If the PM wants to save the nation, he should remove Amit Shah from the Cabinet. If Modi ji doesn't take action, then I will urge the President, who is the chief of all three security forces, to remove Gyanesh Kumar. If the President also takes no action, then the Army Chief should come forward to save the country from such 'hukumshahon' (dictators)," he added.
DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan alleged that the BJP government was using the SIR process to remove names of certain voters from electoral rolls.
"The BJP government is playing a game with this SIR. So, they want to remove the Muslims from this country. That is their motive. They want to make it a Hindu country, which is impossible," he said.
CPI(M) MP John Brittas alleged that the Election Commission had become redundant due to internal differences.
"There is only Gyanesh Kumar, the autocrat, who is controlling the entire election process at the beck and call of Mr Modi and Mr Amit Shah. The Commission has become redundant because two members of the Commission have been registering their opposition, dissent over many of the decisions, controversial decisions that have been taken by Gyanesh Kumar," Brittas said.
Former Election Commissioner Om Prakash Rawat said that this "dispute should be resolved by the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner by sitting together immediately". 
"This is very unfortunate, and it should never happen because the Election Commission is such an institution that has a reputation worldwide for always delivering free, fair, and credible elections. Therefore, this dispute should be resolved by the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner by sitting together immediately," Rawat said.
"All three Commissioners should sit together and hold a press conference. All the facts should be laid out. Everything will be clarified, and their image, which is being tarnished, will be saved from being further damaged," he added.