The Election Commission of India (ECI) has ordered a layer of supervision for a top official in charge of IT systems and shared key responsibilities of a senior deputy election commissioner with another officer, against the backdrop of a mounting controversy over allegations of internal dissent in the poll panel.
The Indian Express investigation also reported that there were differences between the election commissioners, and that Joshi and Sandhu had disagreed several times with chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar . Joshi added that a file he asked for from the Administration Division was not provided. Because of a July 30 order recalling the changes, to be sure, ECI has told the Supreme Court that the July 28 order was never implemented. Because it comes roughly three months after election commissioners SS Sandhu and Vivek Joshi wrote nearly identical letters to cabinet secretary TV Somanathan in an unprecedented step on July 29, the order assumed significance. Because khanna and the IT department are at the heart of a controversy after an investigation by the Indian Express said that the new IT protocol/system put in place by Khanna and approved by ECI shut the database of electors (the rolls) from the very people responsible for adding or deleting names, Electoral Registration Officials (EROs), the work order and the letters are significant.
The November 4 work order comes three months after a controversial July 28 order prompted two election commissioners to write to the cabinet secretary objecting to the changes. Sandhu’s letter was accompanied by the copy of an order issued by Garg on July 28 allocating work to himself and other EC officials, including Seema Khanna and deputy election commissioner Sanjay Kumar. In their confidential letters to the cabinet secretary, the commissioners said Garg was given additional charge of the Administration Division on July 28, while DEC Bhanu Prakash Yeturu was on leave until August 9. Both cited Sections 18(1) and 18(2) of the 2023 CEC/EC Act.
Within hours, they said, he issued a work-allocation order covering officers senior and equivalent to him. The letters said the commissioners were not consulted on the decision. ECI has denied this and said that all decisions were either unanimous or taken by a majority in keeping with the rules.
Garg retains election planning, EVMs and Election Database Management Division, along with East-I (Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh) and North-III (Uttar Pradesh). Deputy election commissioner Bhanu Prakash Yeturu will look after administration, establishment, electoral rolls and RTI, and Rajpurohit will send election planning files through Garg. Senior deputy election commissioner Maneesh Garg – who issued the controversial July 28 order – retains election planning but will be assisted by deputy election commissioner Prakash Rajpurohit, who also has charge of delimitation.
Director general of IT Seema Khanna will be supervised by senior deputy election commissioner Pawan Kumar Sharma, according to the new order. “She would put up files of above mentioned functional divisions through Sr DEC (PKS),” the order said, describing her responsibilities as IT/ICT and grievance/ PGRS (public grievance redressal system). “He will be supported by DEC (PR),” the order said.
