Congress Accuses Election Commission Chief of Unilateral Hijacking

Citing internal records, Singhvi highlighted a pattern of dissent within the Election Commission, noting that fellow commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and others registered written protests 14 times over a ten-month period. These objections centered on unauthorized modifications to voter registration documents, specifically regarding Form 6, which officials labeled as illegal. Singhvi argued that such actions reduce other commissioners to ornamental status, violating the principle of collective decision-making established by Supreme Court rulings in 1995.

The accusations extend to administrative obstacles within the commission itself. Singhvi pointed to an instance in May where IT departments allegedly restricted access for Electoral Registration Officers, effectively locking them out of their own jurisdictional work. He further questioned the integrity of electoral data, specifically citing a discrepancy in West Bengal where 20 to 23 lakh names were removed from rolls, followed by 16 lakh appeals initiated by the commission itself. This internal friction has already triggered formal attempts by opposition parties to seek the CEC’s removal, though recent motions in both houses of Parliament were rejected by the respective presiding officers.