Hyderabad: Telangana Minister N. Uttam Kumar Reddy demanded Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and an impartial inquiry into electoral rolls and their management.
In a statement on Saturday, Uttam Kumar Reddy cited reported objections within the Election Commission of India over electoral-roll decisions. He said allegations involving voter registration, deletion of names and data control raised concerns about democratic governance.
“When the referee is under suspicion, democracy itself is at risk,” Uttam Kumar Reddy said. He added that public concerns over the Commission’s functioning could not be addressed through “slogans, denials or demands for ‘blind trust.’”
The Minister based his demand on a media investigation concerning internal disagreements within the three-member Election Commission. The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded at least 14 objections over 10 months.
Inquiry into electoral rolls sought over reported objections
According to the report, the objections concerned voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals and control over electoral-roll systems. They also covered changes involving Form 6 and access to the Commission’s voter database.
Uttam Kumar Reddy highlighted a reported case involving 97 voters in Goa. Electoral Registration Officers had examined their cases and found them eligible for inclusion in the final electoral roll.
However, the centralised software did not provide the mechanism needed to reverse their earlier deletion before publication of the final roll. The Goa Chief Electoral Officer’s office repeatedly sought a rollback option from the ECI, according to the investigation. Uttam Kumar Reddy argued that such issues required an inquiry into electoral rolls and the systems governing their management.
“These are not peripheral administrative disputes. They concern who is included in the voters’ list, who can be removed from it and whether the statutory officers responsible for maintaining electoral rolls are able to perform their duties,” he said.
Election Commission officials, however, disputed reports suggesting internal disquiet. They said decisions, including those concerning the Special Intensive Revision, had received the approval of all three Election Commissioners.