India's Election Commission (ECI) is facing a fresh credibility crisis amid an internal dispute triggered by objections raised by two election commissioners regarding the alleged unilateral decisions and autocracy of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. A
ccording to a report published in The Indian Express, fellow commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were kept in the dark over various policy decisions, including the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter database, in at least 14 instances over the past few months. They had reportedly even written to top government authorities regarding the matter.
Following this leak, intense political controversy has erupted. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi termed it "treason," issued a strong warning against the election commission and its officials, and demanded the resignation of the CEC. Meanwhile, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also demanded the arrest of the CEC and a fresh election in West Bengal using the pre-SIR voter list.
On the other hand, the BJP dismissed the opposition's allegations, calling the situation a "sign of a vibrant democracy," while the Election Commission issued a statement maintaining that having differing opinions during the decision-making process is entirely normal.
— Daily Best News Desk • Fearless in the search for truth
Reported by BBC Report • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
