India
oi-Swastika Sruti
Amid the Chief Election Commission row, the Cockroach Janata Party has announced a set of demands against the ECI (Election Commission Of India) over the SIR (Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Le groupe Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) a exigé la démission du commissaire électoral en chef Gyanesh Kumar et l’annulation du processus de révision spéciale intensive (SIR), invoquant des pressions politiques présumées et des controverses électorales.
At a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday, CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The group also called for the SIR exercise to be rolled back and demanded a freeze on upcoming Assembly elections.
Dipke warned that the group would launch a fresh protest at Jantar Mantar if the CEC did not resign within 48 hours.
“Jantar Mantar 2.0 will definitely happen if CEC Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t resign,” Dipke said.
CJP’s Key Demands
The group listed several demands during the press conference. These include:
- A freeze on all upcoming state Assembly elections.
- Criminal proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar and those the CJP alleges directed his actions.
- Rolling back the SIR process to the 2025 electoral roll.
- Transferring all SIR-related files and records from the Election Commission to the custody of the Supreme Court.
CJP co-convenor Saurav Das argued that SIR-related records should be preserved under judicial custody. He said the documents must remain available for scrutiny and referred to a possibility of records being destroyed in an incident such as a fire.
The demands represent the CJP’s position and allegations and are not findings established by a court.
Why Is The Election Commission Facing Questions?
The most recent controversy has been brought about by an investigation that was carried out by The Indian Express.
In the investigation, it was stated that Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Election Commissioners, had raised objections to the decisions that had been made in the name of the Election Commission 14 times in the span of 10 months.
It was also stated that four objections had been raised on the same day.
Some of the areas that were covered by the objections were changes to the Form 6, centralization of the ERONet system, and appeals on voter deletions.
The report further stated that Sandhu and Joshi individually wrote to Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan regarding changes to the Information Technology systems of the Election Commission.
Election Commission Says Decisions Were Unanimous
The Election Commission has ruled out the notion that its final decisions were split.
According to the statement from the poll body, all decisions of the Election Commission, including those regarding SIR, were taken unanimously and also enjoyed the approval of both Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner.
The stand of the Election Commission is that any difference or debate within its deliberations does not necessarily imply that the final decisions were not taken unanimously.
CJP Questions BJP’s Vote Share
The CJP also made political allegations about the BJP’s electoral performance during Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure.
Dipke claimed that the BJP’s vote share increased in several states after Kumar became Chief Election Commissioner. He argued that the party had not recorded similar vote shares even during what he described as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s peak electoral period.
Dipke went further and alleged that Kumar had helped the BJP achieve these gains.
These claims are political allegations made by the CJP. A change in vote share by itself does not establish that the Election Commission or its decisions caused an electoral outcome.
Dipke Alleges Political Pressure
During the press conference, Dipke also alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was acting under the instructions of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He said he believed the CEC was working according to directions from the Union minister.
No evidence establishing this allegation was presented in the statements provided, and it remains an allegation by the CJP.
The Election Commission has maintained that its decisions are taken under the constitutional and legal framework governing elections.
CJP Calls For Street Protests
The group has now threatened to intensify its campaign if its demands are not addressed.
CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka called for people to take the issue to the streets and appealed to Gen Z and other social groups to participate in the proposed protests.
The CJP has said that the next phase of its campaign could centre on Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
