On 28 September 2026, the Indian National Congress intensified its criticism of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The party called for his resignation, accusing him of acting as a front for the Modi‑Shah duo and of violating the Constitution by altering Form 6 to disenfranchise young voters.
Key Developments
- Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh shared an interview with former Supreme Court judge Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia, who reiterated that determining citizenship is not the mandate of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
- The ECI’s proposed measures on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) were described by Congress as an admission of a "disaster" and a step that would only offer "piecemeal" relief to the estimated 5.43 crore voters at risk of deletion.
- The ECI announced that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would visit households of at‑risk voters, a task that was originally meant to be carried out during the house‑to‑house enumeration phase.
- Two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, reportedly objected to more than a dozen SIR decisions over the past ten months, claiming they were taken without their knowledge.
Important Facts
The controversy centers on three main legal and procedural issues:
- Citizenship determination – According to the Citizenship Act, 1955, citizenship is a parliamentary matter, not an electoral one.
- Form 6 amendment – The ECI’s change to Form 6 allegedly enables the removal of Gen‑Z voters without adequate safeguards.
- Supreme Court’s role – While the Supreme Court has upheld certain SIR orders, it has not ruled that the ECI can decide citizenship, a point emphasized by Justice Dhulia.
Exam Relevance
For GS‑2 (Polity), this episode illustrates the constitutional limits of independent bodies, the principle of separation of powers, and the role of the judiciary in checking executive overreach. It also highlights the importance of the ECI as a constitutional authority and the procedural safeguards required for voter enrolment.
Way Forward
Congress has urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu notice against the CEC and to intervene in the SIR process. Civil society groups and over 2,000 citizens have written to the Chief Justice of India seeking a stay on SIR orders. The outcome will depend on whether the judiciary re‑asserts its jurisdiction over citizenship matters and whether the ECI revises its roll‑cleaning methodology to align with constitutional guarantees.