The Election Commission’s latest clarification on reports of internal dissent sparked a new round of political battle on Saturday, with the BJP claiming the controversy is now defused and the Congress issuing a list of “unanswered questions”.
“Gyanesh Kumar Gupta can try, as much as he wants, to hide behind these long press notes. Officers arrive on deputation, and personnel matters are discussed at various levels of governance. Yet, the Congress party portrayed it as a meeting arising out of internal dissent.”
The latest row began after The Indian Express reported on September 23 that the other two commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, wrote at least 14 objection notes on decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
He cannot simply wash his hands of this mess,” Congress MP and spokesperson Pawan Khera said in a post on X, singling out Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. He argued that any meetings with the Cabinet Secretary are formally recorded; “they are not informal discussions that leave no trace or official minutes”. Patra referred to a meeting and said, “This is a routine administrative procedure While the EC note mentioned only a letter.
He added, “Regarding the press release issued today by the Election Commission of India on a public platform, the most significant point to note addresses the allegations levelled against the Commission and political parties, specifically the BJP… Today’s statement clarifies this matter unequivocally.” It had been alleged that there was a lack of consensus within the Election Commission, implying the three commissioners were not united, and that the matter had escalated to the point where the Cabinet Secretary had to intervene. Furthermore, it was claimed that the BJP was using the Election Commission as a pawn for its own defence.
At a press conference in Bhubaneswar, BJP MP and spokesperson Sambit Patra said, “As a political party, it is our duty to place before the public and the nation the facts regarding how the Congress party is attacking constitutional institutions to serve its own vested interests.
The exchange followed a press note issued after Gyanesh Kumar, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi met at Nirvachan Sadan on Saturday afternoon. It asserted that the contentious work redistribution orders issued by the officer were not actually implemented.
Saturday’s clarification, issued after a full-house meeting of the EC, was termed “too lame, too little, too late” by the Congress. Pawan Khera repeated what Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had said to Gyanesh Kumar, telling him to resign or “turn approver” in the case of alleged voter manipulation. The note said the orders for the SIR were issued with the “unanimous approval of the Commission”. It also spoke of a “letter to Cabinet Secretary”, reportedly written by Joshi and Sandhu, and said the letter “was not related to any policy matter of the Commission or IT division but related to [the] working of an officer on deputation to ECI”.
