A major political controversy has erupted in India over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Abhijeet Dipke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), held a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, calling India's Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar "the biggest threat to India's democracy" and demanding his resignation. Dipke warned that if the election commissioner does not resign within 48 hours, CJP will launch protests across the country.

Dipke alleged that more than 130 million names have been struck off draft electoral rolls across 30 states and union territories during the SIR process. He claimed the removals were intended to widen the electoral advantage of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and weaken opposition parties. Pointing out that the difference in total votes between the ruling party and the opposition coalition was only 2% in the 2024 election, Dipke said, "Deleting 130 million votes means deleting approximately 13 to 14 percent of the votes. So, is Gyanesh Kumar intentionally deleting them so that the two-percent gap, where it appears that the BJP could lose, becomes larger, so that they never have to leave power?"

The controversy deepened following an investigation by the Indian Express, which reported that fellow Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised at least 14 formal objections over 10 months to decisions concerning voter registrations, deletions, restorations, and control of electoral-roll data. In one objection, Sandhu complained that the Election Commission acted against the written advice of two commissioners, calling its action "unauthorized and illegal."

The Election Commission maintains that the revision was necessary to remove the names of deceased individuals, those who have permanently moved, duplicate entries, and to avoid the "inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants." However, critics argue the process has gone far beyond that remit and removed millions of legal voters. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has also alleged that the SIR process benefits the BJP. The ruling party has dismissed such claims, arguing that those removed largely involve dead voters and illegal immigrants, thereby protecting India's democracy.

Source: www.dw.com