Stories
Karnataka CM Demands CEC Resignation, Fresh Electoral Roll Revision Amid EC Objections
- •Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
- •Shivakumar called for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to be scrapped and conducted afresh.
- •His demands follow a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected to poll panel decisions 14 times.
- •Shivakumar stated that the reported differences among EC members raise serious questions about the country's democratic system.
- •He emphasized the need for a new SIR to ensure every citizen's right to vote is protected and called for parliamentary discussion on the issue.
Key Questions Answered
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar following a report that two other election commissioners formally objected multiple times to poll panel decisions. This prompted concerns over an authoritarian approach and the integrity of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar and CPI(M) leader MA Baby have demanded that the current Special Intensive Revision process be scrapped and conducted afresh or halted entirely. They raised concerns that the exercise risks stripping millions of citizens of their voting rights through a flawed process.
Reports and letters from state leadership indicate that nearly 1.5 million voters in Karnataka face the risk of deletion or exclusion under the ongoing verification process. A significant portion of these affected records involve classifications like the ASDDO category, particularly in regions such as Bengaluru.
