Politics
Gyanesh Kumar Gets More CISF Protection
The deployment follows protests over voter-list revisions and election oversight.
The deployment follows protests over voter-list revisions and election oversight.
A voter-list check has become a national dispute over who can vote and how India’s elections are run. The says its will remove the names of dead, duplicate, moved or ineligible voters. Critics fear it could also remove valid voters, especially poorer, younger and mobile people who may struggle to prove they qualify. Courts are reviewing the process. Opposition parties say it could help the BJP. The commission denies reports of a serious internal split, though two commissioners reportedly objected repeatedly to voter registration, deletions, data control and changes to .
Protests have spread across several states, and opponents want Chief er Gyanesh Kumar to resign. More staff now guard his home and the commission’s offices, strengthening his existing without changing its official category. The dispute now concerns voter access, oversight and the commission’s independence. It could shape future voter lists and public trust in elections.
Additional reserve personnel were reported to have been deployed around Kumar’s residence, the Election Commission headquarters, and aspects of his personal security. Officials described the move as a precautionary strengthening of his existing , not a formal upgrade of that category. The deployment marked the latest escalation as protests and institutional allegations extended beyond voter-roll administration.
Political demands increasingly targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with opponents calling for his resignation or removal over the handling of SIR. The allegations concerned possible voter deletions, , and whether the commission’s respected the role of all commissioners. Election Commission officials continued to describe the exercise and its decisions as lawful and unanimous.
Reporting said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded at least 14 objections over roughly 10 months. Their concerns reportedly covered voter additions, deletions and restorations, , changes to registration procedures, and of . The Election Commission responded that all SIR decisions were unanimous and approved by all three commissioners.
Opposition parties staged demonstrations in Delhi, Srinagar, Patna, Ranchi, Jaipur, and other cities over the , demanding accountability from Gyanesh Kumar. In Delhi, security personnel used water cannons as protesters attempted to march toward the .
Petitions and hearings brought the revision under , including questions about voter eligibility, the documents demanded from applicants, and the and procedure. The litigation challenged whether the process could exclude voters through administrative requirements and whether decisions were properly taken within the commission. The disputes remained unresolved while the revision and related challenges continued.
The Election Commission expanded the Special Intensive Revision beyond Bihar to cover electoral rolls in 30 states and . released during the exercise showed more than names removed, prompting a national dispute over voter-list verification and inclusion.
Election Commissioner Vivek Joshi reportedly objected to proposed changes to , the statutory application used by new voters to register. The proposed fields would ask whether an applicant, parent, or grandparent appeared on a previous . Joshi reportedly argued that the Election Commission could not impose the change without the required legal or regulatory authorization.
Opposition parties and civil-society groups alleged that SIR could delete eligible voters and create for the BJP. They questioned the scale of deletions, documentation demands, and the handling of and . The Election Commission and BJP rejected the allegation that the exercise was designed to alter electoral outcomes, maintaining that it was an process.
Critics objected to documentation and eligibility requirements linked to the revision, saying they could place a heavier burden on poor, mobile, young, and undocumented voters. Opposition parties and warned that could be excluded if they could not establish the required links to earlier electoral records. The Election Commission presented the requirements as safeguards against duplicate and ineligible registrations.
The Election Commission began a of Bihar’s ahead of the state election. It said the exercise was intended to identify deceased, duplicate, relocated, and otherwise ineligible entries, including . The process required voters to provide supporting information and documents to remain on the rolls.