CEC betrayed Constitution at behest of Modi, Shah; Form 6 changed illegally, unilaterally: Congress

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday asserted that Election Commission Chief Gyanesh Kumar unilaterally changed Form 6 illegally, marking a clear abuse of his position to aid the BJP. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha made the claim after the Supreme Court refused to endorse any alterations to Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Form 6 is the application submitted by eligible individuals seeking inclusion on the electoral roll for the first time.

Gandhi shared a screenshot of the Election Commission's statement from September 26, which affirmed that the declaration attached to Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court. However, he emphasized that the situation clearly demonstrated Kumar's abuse of power. During the same day, Congress general secretary for communications Jairam Ramesh also criticized the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that he deliberately manipulated the Form 6 to exclude Gen Z voters, whom Prime Minister Narendra Modi is reportedly wary of.

The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission and the Centre over allegations that the poll body made several decisions without the approval of the two election commissioners. Despite the court's refusal to issue any interim direction restraining Kumar from taking further actions until the final disposal of the petition, it vowed to examine any decisions found to be in violation of the law.

The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana noted that the immunity granted to the Chief Election Commissioner surpasses even that of judges.