‘Democray in jeopardy’: Opposition writes to CJI seeking SIR suspension; alleges poll manipulation

New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, as many as 23 leaders of major opposition parties, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, have jointly written a letter to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant and other judges, raising grave concerns over the alleged manipulation of the country’s electoral process and demanding the immediate suspension of the ongoing voter verification system.

The Opposition, comprising the INDIA bloc and other Opposition leaders, said in the letter to the CJI that they chose this unusual path because the core pillars of the republic face severe strain.

They asserted that the fundamental premise of free and fair elections is being compromised, rendering recent electoral outcomes suspect.

“We all, representing like-minded political parties, firmly opposed to the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), believe that the electoral process is being manipulated and outcomes in multiple instances do not reflect the will of the people,” the opposition leaders stated in the letter.

The primary grievance centres on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) launched by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to sanitise voter rolls.

The Opposition termed the exercise an “inherently exclusionary and politically motivated” move that has disenfranchised lakhs of genuine voters, particularly among the poor, uneducated, Dalits, Adivasis, and minorities who lack complex documentation.

The letter, which was written on June 28, has been signed by leaders including, Trinamool Congress supremo and former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam’s Tiruchi Siva, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Communist Party of India general secretary D. Raja, and Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha’s Sarfaraz Ahmad, Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, Indian Union Muslim League leader Syed Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal, People’s Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti, MDMK chief Vaiko, VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan and Revolutionary Socialist Party MP N.K. Premachandran have also signed the letter.

Reviewing the impact of the process during the West Bengal Assembly polls, the letter pointed out that an unprecedented 27 lakh people were left without the right to vote due to deletions under a category termed ‘logical discrepancies’.

The Opposition leaders cited findings from judicial tribunals set up to look into these deletions to back their claims of administrative overreach.

“One of the 19 Tribunals hearing the appeals headed by Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, found that of the 1777 names deleted for which appeals were heard by him, 1717 were wrongly deleted. This means 96 per cent of the names were wrongly deleted,” the Opposition letter highlighted.

Beyond the voter rolls, the combined Opposition expressed deep apprehension regarding electronic voting machines (EVMs), urging a wider public discussion on potentially restoring paper ballots to restore complete public trust.

They also alleged that central investigative agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, and National Investigation Agency are being systematically used to target opposition figures and alter election dynamics.

Turning to the judiciary as the ultimate custodian of the Constitution, the leaders noted that citizens look to the courts when all other administrative mechanisms fail to provide redress.

Expressing their final plea to the apex court, the leaders wrote: “When institutions themselves become instruments of oppression, carry forward the agenda of the government, then the future of our democracy is fraught with grave consequences.”

–IANS