Clarification on 14 objections of Election Commission, declared disagreement as normal

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India has issued a clarification on the report on the 14 objections filed by two of its members during the last 10 months, saying that various views, comments and technical suggestions are part of routine decision-making in the body. The commission claimed that all final decisions were taken by consensus, but did not directly answer several specific questions raised in the objections. This clarification came after an investigation by The Indian Express, which revealed that Election Commissioners SS Sindhu and Vivek Joshi had filed written objections at least 14 times on various actions taken by the commission. According to the report, the objections related to important issues including voter lists, registration of new voters, deletion or restoration of voter names, access to election data and appeals in West Bengal.
In its statement, the commission said that it is natural to have different opinions during deliberations in any institution and written notices, comments, technical suggestions and internal monitoring system are part of the normal process before a final decision is made. According to the commission, the purpose of the suggestions given by the members was to further improve the electoral process and protect the rights of the voters. The election commission said that during the last one year, the decisions related to revision of the electoral rolls including SIR, about 40 new initiatives and other electoral reforms were taken with the consent of the full commission. The Commission says that looking at the institution's work by putting forward only a few internal notes and comments presents 'only one side of the picture'.
However, the specific issues raised in the report are not detailed in the Commission's statement. These include changes in Form 6, access of officers to digital data of electoral rolls and clearance of appeals filed against voters in West Bengal.
According to the report, in May, Vivek Joshi objected to the proposed change in Form 6, saying that such a change in the form cannot be made without amending the election rules. SS Sindhu also agreed with this opinion. Later in August, Sindhu called the change "unauthorized and illegal" and called for its immediate removal.
The two commissioners also expressed concerns in the matter of election data. Sindhu said in August that some state election officials were not getting full access to EROnet, while Joshi questioned the need for possible central control of the election database and its audit.
The Election Commission, on the other hand, has said that its digital platforms operate under a strict data security and audit system and that election officials carry out voter registration and delisting in accordance with their legal powers.