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ECI Clarifies Poll Commissioners' Letter Amid SIR Row: Not Policy-Related
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News18•26-09-2026, 21:15
ECI Clarifies Poll Commissioners' Letter Amid SIR Row: Not Policy-Related
- •The Election Commission of India clarified that a letter sent by election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi to Cabinet Secretary TV Somanathan was not related to policy matters or its IT division.
- •The ECI stated the letter concerned the "working of an officer on deputation to ECI."
- •Earlier reports suggested differences between Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the two election commissioners over work allocation and IT system oversight.
- •The ECI confirmed that work re-distribution orders were not implemented, and oversight of the IT division by the DEC was never withdrawn.
- •The dispute centers on ECINet, an integrated platform, with commissioners reportedly questioning centralized access to electoral-roll data; ECI announced an independent expert review.
Key Questions Answered
The Election Commission clarified that the letter sent by election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or its IT division, but rather concerned the working of an officer on deputation to the ECI.
The commissioners reportedly questioned the centralization of electoral-roll data access and sought safeguards to ensure that statutory authorities retained control over voter records on the integrated platform.
The ECI announced that a review committee, headed by the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and including an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT, will examine the ECINet system to ensure it complies with the provisions of the Acts and Rules.
