New Delhi [India], September 23 : Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) General Secretary MA Baby on Wednesday demanded the immediate resignation or removal of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has effectively become a "Special Intensive Removal" of voters from electoral rolls.
Speaking to ANI, the senior CPI(M) leader referred to the Indian Express report that stated that two Election Commissioners had raised objections multiple times over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and electoral roll procedures, claiming that the poll body was being run in an "authoritarian and undemocratic" manner.
"There are three members in the Election Commission. There has to be every decision either on the basis of unanimity or on the basis of majority. Now he has been ignoring the majority view—views of the two members, two of his colleagues—and he was imposing his own view. It is illegal. It is undemocratic. It is authoritarian. Therefore, he doesn't have any right to continue as the Chief Election Commissioner. He should resign. If he does not resign, the Government should remove him. This is the demand of the CPI(M)," Baby said.
Reacting to the ongoing revision of electoral rolls across several states, the CPI(M) leader demanded that the exercise be stopped immediately until all political stakeholders are taken into confidence.
"With The Indian Express expose, it is now clear that the entire SIR process is faulty. The full form of SIR is 'Special Intensive Revision'. I would say that it is 'Special Intensive Removal' from the voters' list. This is what is happening. We demand that it should be halted. It should be re-examined only after consulting all national political parties, and what to do next should be decided then," he said.
Baby’s remarks come after an investigative report by Indian Express published today said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process.
Meanwhile, responding to the report, the Election Commission of India (ECI) clarified that all its official orders carry full legal sanction under Article 324 and follow established statutory procedures. The Commission maintained that internal notes, queries, and differing observations during draft stages are standard deliberative checks and balances in a multi-member constitutional body aimed at safeguarding voter rights and refining electoral processes, rather than signs of institutional conflict.
Terming the media report a selective portrayal that ignores the larger body of consensus, the ECI emphasised that all major decisions, electoral reforms, and nationwide roll revisions (including SIR) in recent months were outcomes of unanimous decisions by the full Commission, reaffirming its commitment to executing its constitutional duties with complete integrity.
Opposition parties had earlier moved motions seeking the removal of Gyanesh Kumar. In April 2026, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said that 73 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs submitted a fresh notice seeking the removal of the CEC on grounds of "proven misbehaviour".
Earlier in April, a similar notice was submitted in the Lok Sabha, which was rejected by Speaker Om Birla after consideration, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin. The Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan also rejected the motion.