Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has intensified his attack on the Election Commission, alleging that the online Form 6, used for fresh voter registration, was illegally changed. He questioned the roles of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in authorizing these alterations, raising concerns about transparency and fairness. This development follows reports of significant disagreements between Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The Commissioners reportedly raised objections on record to decisions made without their consent or recommendation. The alleged manipulation of the voter list, particularly the addition of a new declaration to Form 6, has led to widespread political controversy, with the opposition INDIA bloc planning nationwide protests, including 'Save Democracy' marches and major rallies, to demand the resignation of the CEC and a return to ballot paper voting.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has intensified his attack on the Election Commission, alleging that the online Form 6, used for fresh voter registration, was illegally changed. He questioned the roles of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in authorizing these alterations, raising concerns about transparency and fairness. This development follows reports of significant disagreements between Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The Commissioners reportedly raised objections on record to decisions made without their consent or recommendation. The alleged manipulation of the voter list, particularly the addition of a new declaration to Form 6, has led to widespread political controversy, with the opposition INDIA bloc planning nationwide protests, including 'Save Democracy' marches and major rallies, to demand the resignation of the CEC and a return to ballot paper voting.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has intensified his attack on the Election Commission, alleging that the online Form 6, used for fresh voter registration, was illegally changed. He questioned the roles of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in authorizing these alterations, raising concerns about transparency and fairness. This development follows reports of significant disagreements between Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The Commissioners reportedly raised objections on record to decisions made without their consent or recommendation. The alleged manipulation of the voter list, particularly the addition of a new declaration to Form 6, has led to widespread political controversy, with the opposition INDIA bloc planning nationwide protests, including 'Save Democracy' marches and major rallies, to demand the resignation of the CEC and a return to ballot paper voting.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attack on the Election Commission over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), alleging that the online Form 6, used for fresh voter registration, was changed illegally.

Gandhi questioned who at the poll body had ordered Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to make the changes and who at the company had signed off on them. TCS handles the Election Commission’s core digital backend infrastructure and portal management.

“The online Form 6 was changed illegally — as the EC’s own Commissioners have recorded. Who at the ECI ordered Tata Consultancy Services to make that change?” Gandhi asked in a post on X.

“Who at TCS signed off on it? And were they pressured into doing it?” he further asked.

The latest controversy erupted after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had repeatedly disagreed with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over voter-list revisions and the inclusion of new names.

According to the report, Sandhu and Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders relating to the SIR, which they said had been issued without their knowledge or recommendation.

The report claimed that an additional declaration relating to the previous SIR electoral roll was added to the online Form 6 on the ECINET portal. The declaration sought information on whether the applicant's name, or that of their parent or grandparent, appeared in the electoral roll prepared during the previous SIR.

The report triggered a political controversy, with the Congress and other Opposition parties alleging that Kumar had helped the BJP “steal votes”.

On Wednesday, the Opposition INDIA bloc announced joint ‘Save Democracy’ marches in all districts and five major rallies to protest alleged irregularities in the SIR and demand the resignation of CEC Kumar.

The meeting, attended by 19 political parties, also called for future elections to be conducted using ballot papers. It was decided that Opposition MPs would march to the Election Commission on October 6, while the leaders would meet the President to highlight their concerns over alleged irregularities in the voter-list revision process.

TAGS