New Delhi, 18 October (H.S.): The Congress has questioned the Election Commission of India’s decision to provide political parties with searchable electoral rolls, accusing the poll panel of repeatedly rejecting the demand despite sustained requests from the party over the past two years.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh on Sunday criticised the Election Commission and the central government over the issue. He reiterated his demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and comprehensive reforms to the Election Commission’s information technology infrastructure.

In a post on social media platform X, Ramesh said the Election Commission issued an order on October 15 to provide searchable electoral rolls to political parties for the Special Summary Revision (SSR), which has resumed after a two-year gap in 17 states and Union Territories.

He said the Congress had repeatedly called for electoral rolls to be made available in a searchable format to all political parties, but the Election Commission had consistently rejected the proposal in the past.

Ramesh also alleged that the poll panel stopped providing searchable electoral rolls in 2018 after the Congress raised concerns about allegedly fraudulent voters in Madhya Pradesh. According to him, the move made it more difficult for political parties to scrutinise voter lists and, he claimed, helped conceal alleged electoral irregularities.

The Congress leader argued that restoring public confidence in the Election Commission required accountability at the highest level. He said the Chief Election Commissioner should step down to help rebuild trust in the institution.

However, Ramesh maintained that the commissioner’s resignation alone would not address the broader concerns, stressing the need for comprehensive institutional reforms, including changes to the Election Commission’s information technology systems.

He also called for the immediate suspension of the SIR process, reiterating the party’s concerns over the conduct and transparency of electoral roll revisions.

The demands have brought renewed attention to the debate over electoral transparency, access to voter data and the safeguards required to ensure that electoral rolls can be effectively scrutinised by political parties.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar