New Delhi [India], October 3 : Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday questioned the process of excluding voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and asked who would be responsible for the expenditure involved in subsequently re-enrolling those left out of the rolls.
In a post on X, Chidambaram questioned why the Election Commission did not inform the Supreme Court during the hearing of the West Bengal SIR case that voters left out of the electoral rolls could re-enrol by simply filing Form 6.
“If 'left out' voters can re-enrol by simply filing a Form 6, why was this not pointed out to the Supreme Court when it was hearing the West Bengal S.I.R. case?” Chidambaram said.
He alleged that lakhs of voters were excluded from the electoral rolls in West Bengal without due process and noted that the Supreme Court had ordered the constitution of tribunals to hear appeals against the exclusions.
“Lakhs of voters were excluded, from the electoral rolls in West Bengal without due process. The Supreme Court ordered constitution of tribunals to hear Appeals. Lakhs of Appeals were filed. The judges toiled for six months,” he said.
Chidambaram further claimed that the tribunals were able to dispose of approximately 1.26 lakh appeals and that 91-93 per cent of the appeals were allowed, resulting in the restoration of names to the electoral rolls.
“Was all this a waste? If re-enrolment can be done by simply filing a Form 6, it appears that the West Bengal exercise was a complete waste of time and money,” the Congress leader said.
He also raised questions over the financial implications of the SIR exercise, alleging that crores of rupees had already been spent on excluding 13.30 crore names from electoral rolls.
“Crores of rupees were spent in excluding 13,30,00,000 names. Now crores of rupees will be spent on re-enrolling the 'left out' voters. Who is responsible?” Chidambaram asked.
Earlier on Friday, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attack on the Election Commission and demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X on Gandhi Jayanti, Gandhi said thousands of young people were protesting against what he described as “vote theft” and alleged that hundreds of protesters had been detained.
Gandhi invoked Mahatma Gandhi's teachings on non-violence and truth while describing the protests."Bapu taught us exactly this - speak the truth, fight peacefully. And that's what scares this government the most," he said, adding, "Because a lathi can stop a crowd, but not a question. Gyanesh Kumar will go. And the system that put him there will go too."
The issue has triggered demonstrations by opposition parties, student organisations and civil society groups in Delhi and Mumbai. On Friday, more than 500 people were detained during protests in Delhi, while demonstrations led by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) were also held at Mumbai's Shivaji Park demanding greater transparency in the electoral-roll revision process.
Several opposition leaders in Delhi, including AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, were detained amid prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
The opposition's campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner is expected to continue, with the INDIA bloc planning further protests, including a program on October 6 and a major rally in Delhi on November 1.
The fresh political row came after a report by The Indian Express, which claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.
The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases. 
The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions.The poll panel said that operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process. ECI stated that the decisions regarding the schedule of the SIR exercise were unanimous.