TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Wednesday demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for a court-monitored probe into the functioning of the Election Commission, citing a media report that two election commissioners had objected to decisions related to the revision of electoral rolls.
Banerjee's demand came hours after a national daily reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which they said were taken without their knowledge.
"The CEC must be removed immediately and a court-monitored investigation ordered," Banerjee said in a social media post.
The Diamond Harbour MP alleged that "disenfranchising lakhs of voters to allegedly benefit one political party strikes at the very foundation of our democracy", and demanded that those responsible be held accountable.
He also sought judicial scrutiny of concerns raised by opposition parties following the West Bengal Assembly elections.
"After the West Bengal elections, all opposition parties of the INDIA bloc wrote to the CJI and SC judges raising serious concerns," Banerjee said, alleging that the concerns "were neither examined nor given the scrutiny they deserved".
"When grave questions affecting the democratic process are repeatedly raised and yet remain unheard, it inevitably raises questions about institutional impartiality," he said.
Banerjee also appealed directly to the Supreme Court, saying, "The Supreme Court cannot look away. The buck stops there."
"Will the CJI-led Bench act?" he added.
According to the investigative report, Sandhu and Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions involving voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals concerning voters, and the custody and security of the electoral-roll database. The report said four of the objections were made on a single day.
The two commissioners reportedly questioned decisions allegedly taken without their knowledge and, in one instance, described a change concerning Form 6 for new voters as "unauthorised and illegal". They also separately approached the Cabinet Secretary over changes in the oversight of the IT systems supporting electoral rolls.
The reported differences are significant as the Election Commission is a three-member constitutional body under Article 324, with the CEC and the two election commissioners holding equal rank. The law provides for unanimity as far as possible, while the majority view prevails when differences remain.
The report comes amid growing controversy over the SIR, which began in Bihar in June 2025 and was subsequently expanded to several states and Union territories.
West Bengal has emerged as a major flashpoint in the SIR debate. The exercise involved scrutiny of millions of electors and triggered repeated objections from political parties, with the Supreme Court also intervening in aspects of the process.
The latest report is likely to provide fresh ammunition to opposition parties that have repeatedly questioned the Election Commission's handling of electoral-roll revision and alleged that the exercise could result in legitimate voters being excluded.
(With inputs from PTI)
