Differences Within Election Commission.. Opposition Criticises SIR

The Opposition stepped up its criticism of the Election Commission on Wednesday following a report alleging differences within the poll panel over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. An investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months regarding decisions linked to the SIR process.

According to the report, the objections covered issues including the registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names from electoral rolls, the software used to manage voter data and appeals against decisions taken during the revision process. Meanwhile, sources within the Election Commission have said that all decisions, including those related to the SIR, were taken unanimously with the approval of the three-member panel.