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Kejriwal Demands SIR Rollback and Fresh Elections, Challenges EC
Arvind Kejriwal says the Election Commission has handled voter lists improperly.
He wants the current voter-list revision, called SIR, to be stopped.
He also wants an older voter list brought back.
Kejriwal says more than 13 crore names were removed from draft lists across 30 states.
He has asked for some recent state elections to be held again.
He also accused the chief election commissioner of making decisions without enough involvement from the other commissioners.
The Election Commission disagrees with this interpretation and says its decisions were unanimous.
The Supreme Court has separately questioned how some SIR notices were issued in Delhi.
Arvind Kejriwal demanded cancellation of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision and restoration of a three-year-old voter list.
He called for fresh Assembly elections in Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
Kejriwal alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar made decisions without sufficient participation from the other commissioners.
He cited an Indian Express investigation reporting objections by Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over voter-data decisions.
The Election Commission said the decisions examined were unanimous, while the Supreme Court has questioned some SIR notices in Delhi.
- Who
- Arvind Kejriwal, the Election Commission of India, and Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
- What
- Kejriwal demanded that the Special Intensive Revision be cancelled, an older voter list restored and several recent Assembly elections reheld.
- Where
- The press conference took place in New Delhi, with the dispute including electoral rolls in Delhi and other states.
- When
- Kejriwal made the demands at a press conference on Wednesday; The Indian Express investigation cited was published on September 23.
- Why
- Kejriwal alleged irregularities in voter-list changes and Election Commission decision-making, while the commission said the relevant decisions were unanimous.
Kejriwal and AAP Claims
Election Commission Response
Internal decision-making
Kejriwal and AAP Claims
Kejriwal alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar made decisions without adequate participation from the other two commissioners and demanded his arrest and prosecution.
Election Commission Response
The Election Commission said differing views and observations are part of institutional decision-making and that the decisions discussed were unanimous decisions of the full commission.
Electoral-roll revision
Kejriwal and AAP Claims
Kejriwal argued that the Special Intensive Revision should be scrapped, that the three-year-old voter list should be restored and that intervening changes should be rejected.
Election Commission Response
The Election Commission disputed the interpretation of its internal deliberations; the article does not report a separate commission position endorsing Kejriwal’s rollback demands.
Key facts
- Main demand
- Cancel the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
- Voter-list request
- Restore the voter list from three years ago and reject intervening changes.
- Claimed deletions
- Kejriwal said more than 13 crore names were deleted from draft rolls across 30 states.
- Elections cited
- Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
- Investigation
- The Indian Express published a report on September 23 about objections involving voter additions, deletions and Form 6 changes.
- Election Commission response
- The commission said the decisions highlighted in the report were taken unanimously by the full commission.
- Supreme Court scrutiny
- The Supreme Court recently questioned how some SIR notices were issued in Delhi and sought the commission’s response.
Sources
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