Listen to this article:

New Delhi: Former Union home secretary R.K. Singh in a scathing open letter has slammed the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and said that criminal cases should be filed against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

He said that this was the first time in India’s history that the government was on a mission to disenfranchise people. “[Until] now, the efforts of the Government and the Election Commission have always been to enroll all eligible voters. It was a mission to deepen democracy and empower all citizens. This is the first time in the history of the country that the mission is to disenfranchise people,” Singh wrote.

Singh said that the SIR has been conducted in violation of the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. He also raised questions about Kumar’s role and the decision-making process within the poll panel.

The former minister said Section 21 of the Act permits a special revision only in special cases, with reasons recorded in writing and for a constituency or part of a constituency. 

“An order for intensive revision for the whole country was illegal. An exception allowed for special cases cannot become the rule. The Supreme Court order upholding the........

© The Wire