SPCC demands accountability over Election Commission's functioning, questions BJP’s commitments to Sikkim’s identity and constitutional rights

ISABELLA GURUNG

GANGTOK,: The Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) on Saturday condemned Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar and accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government of shielding him, alleging that the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had raised serious concerns about democracy and constitutional institutions.

Addressing the media in Gangtok, SPCC president Gopal Chettri said the SIR exercise and the recently published final voter list in Sikkim has caused quite a stir in the State. He alleged that the country was witnessing an emergency-like situation because of the manner in which electoral issues were being handled.

“There is a widespread and intense approach towards the SIR process right now, and today the country has reached an emergency-like state. This situation, and the SIR process, has flaws, and whether it is due to some confusion or tampering with the EVM, the Congress party was the first to raise its voice against it. From the Congress party, Rahul Gandhi raised this with concrete evidence in front of the media and the country,” it said.

The SPCC alleged that concerns over electoral irregularities had gained public attention and claimed that the BJP had benefited from alleged manipulation.

“Many people might have felt that this wasn't quite true, but today the public has completely realised that some form of tampering occurred, and that the BJP government came to power as a result of this tampering,” the party said.

Referring to a report in The Indian Express, the SPCC alleged that questions had been raised over the decision-making process within the Election Commission and the extent of consultation among its members.

“When the Congress party started raising this issue, an article appeared in The Indian Express. In that article, it was stated that the Chief Election Commissioner of India, Gyanesh Kumar, made unilateral decisions without consulting the other two commissioners, and that he did so under the direction of the BJP government,” said Chettri.

The party said the allegations were serious because the Election Commission was expected to function independently as a constitutional body.

“When this came to light, it created a huge stir because the Election Commission is a constitutional and independent body. If this institution functions correctly, it makes the right decisions, but if it goes wrong, the country moves in the wrong direction. It is one of the most prominent institutions in the country,” the SPCC said.

The Congress further alleged that other Election Commissioners had raised objections to the functioning of the institution but had not received an adequate response.

“When Gyanesh Kumar didn't consult his co-commissioners, it created a massive uproar, and they submitted 14 written objections within 10 months. Even when they submitted these written objections up to the Cabinet Secretariat, no hearings took place, and Gyanesh Kumar did not listen,” he said.

According to the party, the controversy subsequently attracted public and media attention, following which the government attempted to project a united position within the Election Commission.

“When this issue grew, public outrage began, various media outlets highlighted it, and organisations raised their voices. Seeing this, the government suddenly held a meeting and tried to project that everything was done with everyone's consensus. They even pressured the two election commissioners to act like everything was fine and admit to past mistakes,” the SPCC alleged.

The party also questioned changes relating to Form 6, which is used for the inclusion of names in electoral rolls, claiming that modifications had been introduced without adequate consultation.

“Furthermore, regarding Form 6, the process had been modified previously to add or remove names and alter the SIR process without any consultation, which created a huge controversy. Today, nearly 13 crore votes have been deleted from the voter list. To date, the Election Commission has not been able to provide data on how many of these voters were foreigners or ineligible. The Election Commission failed to provide this data, showing complete negligence,” it alleged.

The SPCC accused Kumar of misleading the public and alleged that the BJP government was weakening democratic institutions.

“Gyanesh Kumar repeatedly lied, suppressed constitutional bodies, and the BJP government worked to destroy these institutions and democracy. This alignment between Gyanesh Kumar and the BJP government has become clear,” the party said.

It also referred to what it described as a dispute over whether changes to Form 6 had received the Supreme Court's approval.

“On September 26, 2023, Gyanesh Kumar claimed that the modifications to Form 6 were approved by the Supreme Court. However, on October 5, the Supreme Court clarified that they had never approved any modifications to Form 6. This caught the Election Commissioner lying in front of the entire nation,” the SPCC alleged.

The party questioned the political support Kumar received whenever the Election Commission came under scrutiny.

“Where did Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission get such immense power? They got it from the BJP party, the Prime Minister, and the Home Minister. Whenever the country questioned Gyanesh Kumar, or opposition parties and institutions questioned him, Kumar avoided answering, and instead, BJP spokespersons and Cabinet ministers came forward to defend him. This proves that the BJP government is shielding him,” it said.

The SPCC also criticised the government's handling of legislation concerning the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. It linked its concerns to the suspension of opposition MPs during the December 2023 parliamentary session and alleged that the legislative changes had weakened safeguards against political pressure.

The party claimed that the framework would protect the Chief Election Commissioner from accountability while leaving the government insulated from responsibility for alleged electoral irregularities.

“This makes it clear that the BJP government formed through EVM manipulation rather than a true public mandate,” the SPCC alleged.

The party further claimed that protests against the government and the electoral process had spread across sections of society, including students, young people, unemployed citizens, Supreme Court advocates, former servicemen, traders and farmers.

“Today, students, youth, unemployed citizens, Supreme Court advocates, ex-servicemen, traders, and farmers are all protesting at Jantar Mantar. An emergency-like atmosphere has been created in the country. The government has shut down over 38 trains, suspended 57+ metro services in Delhi, closed hotels, blocked internet access, and deployed over 40,000 CRPF personnel in Delhi to suppress peaceful protests,” it said.

The SPCC alleged that the authorities were suppressing dissent and targeting people participating in demonstrations.