Indian election chief’s ouster sought after voter-roll revision probe

India's political opposition has called for the removal of the country's top election official following an investigation that alleged illegal decisions behind a controversial voter-roll revision. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has come under intense scrutiny in recent months over the nationwide revision that has resulted in millions of names being struck from voter lists since last year.

The ruling party maintains the revision is aimed at removing fraudulent registrations, but the opposition contends it is politically motivated and may also target legitimate voters. A recent report by the Indian Express highlighted internal divisions within the ECI, revealing that the commission's chief, Gyanesh Kumar, overruled objections from the other two members at least 14 times in the past ten months, leading to the removal of approximately 130 million voters.

Such overrulings could potentially be unlawful, as the commission is required to function based on the consensus of at least two members. The Congress party accused Kumar of acting unilaterally under the orders of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling BJP. "While it was already known that things within the ECI were not exactly well," said Congress spokesman Pawan Khera on social media, "the extent of the mess and dysfunction is now laid bare."

Senior Congress leader K. C. Venugopal demanded Kumar's immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored investigation. Opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Aadmi Party accused Kumar of "vote-rigging."