New Delhi

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Tuesday passed a set of resolutions at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of 13 crore 30 lakh names that the party claims have been removed from the rolls.

The CWC said it met to deliberate on what it described as a "grave danger to our democracy" posed by reports alleging the capture of the electoral process by the RSS-BJP with the alleged support of the Election Commission of India (ECI) under the current CEC.

The party said the developments vindicated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's warnings about what it termed "Vote Chori", and cited his concerns over selective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the integrity of EVMs, additions and deletions from electoral rolls, the changed process for appointing the CEC and the grant of lifelong immunity to the CEC.

The CWC also raised concerns over reports that the ECI had been reduced to a "one-man show", alleging that the CEC was taking decisions without due consultation with the other Election Commissioners.

The resolution referred to reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to SIR, including alleged "unauthorised" and "illegal" changes to Form 6. 

The Congress said the reported concentration of control over electoral rolls during the nationwide SIR raised serious questions over the credibility of the poll panel.

The CWC also expressed concern over what it described as the constitutional validity of SIR, claiming that the exercise had "already wiped out 13 crore 30 lakh Indians from the electoral rolls".

It said a process that shifts the burden onto citizens to prove their eligibility, is conducted without what the party considers adequate transparent safeguards and results in what it termed "arbitrary mass-disenfranchisement" could not be reconciled with the guarantees under Article 14 and universal adult suffrage under Article 326.

"An exercise of doubtful constitutional validity cannot be allowed to decide who may vote in the world's largest democracy," the resolution said.

The CWC said Congress, under the guidance of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, had already taken the issue to the people and various forums through the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, the nationwide Vote Chori campaign, press conferences on alleged electoral-roll manipulation in Karnataka, Maharashtra and Haryana, the EAGLE group, engagement with the ECI, written objections to procedural changes, legal challenges to SIR, INDIA bloc protests in Parliament and a march to the ECI.

"What began as one man's solitary warning is now a national demand for transparency and accountability," the resolution said.

The CWC then resolved to demand the immediate resignation of the CEC, stating that he had "forfeited all moral and institutional authority".

It also demanded the immediate suspension of SIR, citing concerns over the integrity and transparency of the electoral rolls being prepared through the exercise and its "constitutional validity".

The party further demanded the immediate restoration of "the 13 crore 30 lakh names removed from the electoral rolls".

"This brazen Vote Chori has been organised by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Nothing short of their resignation will ensure the safety of our constitution and hard-earned democracy," the resolution alleged.

The CWC said the Congress would continue to oppose what it described as the "theft of the people's franchise" in Parliament, courts and on the streets until those responsible were punished, every citizen's vote was secure, and the ECI was restored as an independent constitutional authority.

"For the Indian National Congress, the struggle to restore universal adult franchise in India is no less than the Freedom Struggle itself. And we will ensure that this struggle reaches its rightful conclusion," the resolution said.

Earlier in the day, Kharge, addressing the CWC meeting, accused the CEC of becoming a "puppet" of the Modi government and said the Congress wanted the EC to be strong and credible enough for both the ruling party and opposition to have equal trust in its decisions.

"Names are being removed from voter lists through calculated conspiracies, and the Chief Election Commissioner has become a puppet of the Modi government," Kharge said.

He also questioned the decision-making process surrounding SIR and asked why the two other Election Commissioners were allegedly kept out of the internal portal.

"Is it wrong to ask who took the decision of SIR? Is it wrong to ask why two Election Commissioners were kept out of the Internal Portal? Was something secretive going on," Kharge said.

Kharge also outlined five demands of the party: publication of complete data on every major change in voter lists; full information and an opportunity to appeal for voters whose names have been removed; timely access for political parties to voter lists and related essential data in a simple format; independent and time-bound investigations wherever serious discrepancies are found; and transparency in crucial data and decisions related to the election process.

He said these measures were necessary ahead of elections in five states in 2027 to ensure that no voter's rights were violated and that public trust in the electoral process remained intact.

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The political row intensified following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections represented institutional dissent, maintaining that decisions related to SIR were taken with the unanimous approval of the Commission.