CHENNAI: DMK president and former Tamil Nadu chief minister M K Stalin on Wednesday demanded that chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar step down immediately over allegations that he had acted unilaterally and without the concurrence of the other two election commissioners.Stalin demanded an immediate halt to the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a fair and thorough investigation into alleged irregularities in the exercise.Citing an investigative report in The Indian Express, Stalin said DMK and other Opposition parties had consistently opposed the deletion of crores of voters from electoral rolls in the name of SIR. He said the exercise was rushed through months before elections in several states and had sparked widespread unrest, particularly in West Bengal.In a post on X, Stalin said the report had raised serious doubts about the results of every assembly election held after SIR. He alleged that Kumar acted in secrecy and without consulting election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.Stalin said Sandhu and Joshi were allegedly kept unaware of crucial decisions and that their objections to decisions taken without their knowledge were brushed aside on 14 occasions in 10 months.He said the Election Commission was a three-member body whose business should, as far as possible, be transacted unanimously, while differences must be decided by a majority. Keeping two commissioners unaware of decisions taken in commission’s name could not be treated as merely an internal or procedural matter, he added.Stalin raised concerns over appeals filed against the inclusion of voters despite court orders directing that their names be added to electoral rolls. He asked who had authorised and filed the appeals.Stalin said electoral registration officers were empowered to scrutinise and revise electoral rolls but could not add even eligible voters because ERONet, the digital platform used for changes, was under one person’s control.Recalling DMK’s legal action, Stalin said the party and other opposition parties moved an impeachment motion against Kumar in early March. “He has no right to continue in office any longer,” he said, demanding accountability for those responsible.
