BHUBANESWAR: Joining the growing Opposition demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, BJD president and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik on Friday sought the CEC’s immediate resignation and called for a thorough review of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Naveen’s remarks came amid intensified Opposition criticism of the Election Commission following reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months on issues concerning voter registration, deletion and restoration of names and electoral-roll data management.
“Because of the strong differences between the various Election Commissioners, the Chief Election Commissioner should immediately resign, and the entire SIR process should be thoroughly revisited. The BJD has been against this SIR process from the very beginning,” Naveen told mediapersons in Bhubaneswar.
The BJD chief’s demand came a day after several Opposition parties stepped up their campaign against Kumar, seeking his removal, a probe into the functioning of the poll panel and a halt to the SIR exercise. The Opposition has seized on the reported objections by the two Election Commissioners to question the manner in which decisions relating to electoral rolls were taken.
The Election Commission, however, has maintained that differences and observations are part of institutional deliberations and said its orders over the past year were the outcome of unanimous decisions of the full Commission. The BJP has also argued that differing views among Election Commissioners demonstrate democratic functioning of the poll panel.
The SIR has also become a major political issue in Odisha. The BJD had earlier alleged that over 25 lakh eligible voters were left out of the final electoral roll, while election authorities had put the number of deletions at around 17.67 lakh. The party has demanded corrective measures and restoration of names of eligible voters.
Naveen also targeted the BJP over the amendments to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, questioning why the Opposition should be blamed when 20 BJP MPs from Odisha supported the Bill in Parliament.
“As far as the MMDR Act is concerned, why blame others when 20 BJP MPs from Odisha supported this Bill in Parliament?” he said, adding that the BJD would take up the issue with the state government and seek a thorough review, as the measure could result in substantial revenue loss for Odisha.
The BJD has announced a statewide agitation against the MMDR amendments, with Naveen himself scheduled to attend the party’s protest in Bhubaneswar on September 28.
