New Delhi, 02 October—In continuation with its mission to restore sanctity of the electoral rolls to ensure right to franchise for India’s citizens, the Congress today charged the Election Commission of India (ECI) of “lying” about its ECINet portal alleging that restrictions on Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) violated the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Congress general secretary in-charge Jairam Ramesh said the ECI’s September 26 press note announcing a committee to review ECINet’s compliance with electoral laws amounted to “damage control but actually damage enhancing”. The ECI had said the committee would review the portal to “double-check that it complies with the provisions of the Acts and Rules”.
“In reality, this should never have been in doubt at all in the first place if the intentions of the CEC Gyanesh Kumar were honest – which they were not,” Ramesh underscored.
ECINet was launched on January 22, 2026, with the stated objective of enhancing “transparency, credibility and public trust”. Ramesh said the ECI had assured the country that the platform “has been developed in strict accordance with the law” and complied with the Constitution, the Representation of the People Acts, 1950 and 1951, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Ramesh alleged that restricting ERO access to the ECINet voter-roll system and overriding EROs in states including Goa and Bengal violated the statutory framework governing electoral rolls.
“By restricting access of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to the ECINet voter roll system and by overruling EROs in states like Goa, West Bengal and others, the ECI controlled by the CEC has violated The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960,” Ramesh said.
Ramesh also cited a September 24 letter from the Maharashtra chief electoral officer to the ECI seeking correction of what he described as an “illegal state of affairs”.
“Starting today, the INDIA janbandhan, citizens and many civil society organisations will hit the streets across the country demanding accountability for these violations of the law and the Constitution,” Ramesh said.
Earlier, Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram also targeted Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the SIR process, questioning electoral-roll deletions and seeking the release of ECI records.
“What about the 13,30,00,000 voters who were removed from the electoral rolls under S.I.R. without due process?” he asked.
Chidambaram also questioned the status of voters among those whose names were removed who were unable to vote in recent Assembly elections, and raised the issue of Bengal voters whose appeals against deletion were allowed by judges but who, he claimed, were still unable to vote.
“Maharashtra chief electoral officer (CEO) has lodged a protest. Odisha CEO has applied for premature retirement. Karnataka CEO has ordered an enquiry into the bulk Form 7 applications mainly against a Muslim voters. Bombay High Court has posed difficult questions to the ECI and the Maharashtra CEO,” he said.
Chidambaram urged other chief electoral officers to “expose the illegal directions and decisions” and said, “Several judges appointed to hear Appeals in West Bengal have expressed frustration. One judge has quit”.
“The entire illegal S.I.R. is unravelling,” he said.
“Where is the original file in which the decision to conduct an S.I.R. was taken?” he asked.
“The two other Election Commissioners must release their objections and letters. The minutes of the ECI — if they exist — must be made public,” Chidambaram said.
“Whatever Mr Gyanesh Kumar does now to reverse or erase his illegal steps, the DEMAND for his resignation will grow louder every day,” he said.
The Congress’s criticism comes amid a wider Opposition campaign over SIR. The INDIA bloc has announced joint ‘save democracy’ marches, five major rallies and an October 6 march to the Election Commission, while its leaders plan to meet the President over alleged voter-list irregularities.
The campaign intensified after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to SIR-related decisions they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
The ECI has said differing views are a normal part of institutional deliberations and maintained that its orders carry legal sanction and follow statutory procedures.
Congress leader Pawan Khera also accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of manipulating electoral rolls under SIR and alleged that the exercise affected the electoral mandate in Bihar and Bengal.
Khera wrote on X: “The ECI first arbitrarily and illegally added and deleted voters from the electoral rolls under the SIR.”
He further alleged: “These fudged electoral rolls were then used to manufacture illegitimate governments in Bihar and Bengal.”
Targeting the BJP and ECI, Khera said: “Now that the BJP-ECI’s robbery of the people’s mandate has been exposed, they are throwing breadcrumbs disguised as “solutions” to problems they themselves created.”
“The constitutional violation is already on record. Treason has already been committed. No amount of damage control can undo what has been done or absolve those responsible,” Khera added.
“Accountability will be enforced. Justice will be served,” he said.
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