- 14 minutes ago
The Election Commission of India held a crucial internal meeting at Nirvachan Bhavan featuring Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar alongside Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi amid allegations of centralisation of powers and opposition demands for the Chief Election Commissioner's removal. Following reports and political criticism, the poll body issued clarifications addressing letters sent to the Cabinet Secretary, explaining that the communication concerned an officer on deputation rather than policy matters or IT division oversight. The Commission confirmed that work redistribution orders were not implemented following commissioners' directions, ensuring uninterrupted IT oversight. Clarifications were also issued regarding voter enrollment under the Special Summary Revision process, stating that SIR schedules across states and union territories received unanimous approval and were upheld by the Supreme Court of India. The Commission detailed enrollment initiatives in Goa and extended claims and objections filing deadlines in Delhi, projecting a united administrative stance.
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NewsTranscript
00:05more breaking news coming in first EC meeting that is happening amid the rift of the claims
00:12and this is a crucial meeting that is being held at Nirvachan Bhavan where all the three
00:17ECs are attending the meeting latest information just coming in as an internal meeting is now
00:23happening at the Election Commission of India this is owing to the demand that has been raised
00:30by the opposition of the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and how the matter is snowballing where we
00:37also understand the India bloc is wanting to concretize their stand on this issue demanding
00:45the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and also staging protest to this effect while all of that is part
00:55of their plan in the making an internal meeting that is happening at the Election Commission of
01:01India where all the election commissioners are also part of this meeting of all the claims and
01:08counterclaims that have been made this meeting has been happening at Nirvachan Bhavan where all the three
01:14ECs we're told are attending this meeting the picture of which is on your screens right now this is the
01:21meeting that is happening to discuss the claims that have been made whether there was any dissent what
01:29has been said as part of the internal deliberations the letter to cabinet secretary was not related to
01:35any policy matter of the Commission or IT division but related to working of an officer on deputation to
01:42ECI the work redistribution orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented
01:48after the orders of the two commissioners and the oversight over the IT division by the DEC was never
01:56actually withdrawn this is what we're picking up from sources within the election commission of
02:02India in fact a statement that has been made by the election commission of India over what that letter to
02:09the
02:09cabinet secretary was all about it is saying it is not related to any policy matter of the Commission or
02:17the IT division but it was related to the working of an officer on deputation to ECI the work redistribution
02:25orders issued by the concerned officer were not actually implemented after the orders of the two
02:30commissioners and the oversight over the IT division by the DEC was never actually withdrawn the CEO Goa has
02:37directed concerned BLOs to conduct house to house visits to left out voters to collect their forms 81
02:43voters out of 97 have already filled form 6 for inclusion is again a clarification that has come in
02:50from the election commission of India SIR has already been completed in 20 states union territories
02:57including Bihar and West Bengal any person whose name has got left out during the SIR process or thereafter and
03:06any person including young first-time voter may apply to the concerned ERO for inclusion of their names in
03:14the electoral rolls under the process of continuous updation CEOs have been directed to facilitate the
03:20same the CEOs DEOs eros will immediately launch a special drive for enrollment of these sectors is
03:28something that the election of Commission of India has clarified in view of the request received
03:33from CEO Delhi the period for filing claims and objections has been extended by the Commission till
03:40the 30th of October 2026 the period of disposal and of notices and claims and objections has been
03:46extended till the 30th November 2026 let me take this to my colleague Armal Bali joining us on the
03:52broadcast and more a slew of clarifications that have come in from the election Commission of India also
03:57this meeting that is underway at Nirvachan Bhavan what more are you picking up as part of what is happening
04:02in
04:03this meeting are we expecting another press conference or these clarifications to be made
04:09as part of that by the election Commission of India where all the three will be part of it and
04:15with
04:16regards to the SIR exercise what other clarifications have come in as you know that election Commission has
04:24just released a statement on the accusations made by in an express report against the chief election commission of
04:31centralization of powers in the election Commission where they have clarified many of the points like the ECI
04:36has clearly said that letter to cabinet security concerned an officer on deputation not any policy matter and even they
04:43have talked about the
04:44Goa voter enrollment the CEO of the Goa has directed BLO's to visit homes and left out voters they have
04:50given an argument that of 97 voters 81 have already submitted form 6 for the inclusion and they have also
04:56discussed about the SIR voter enrollment issue like SIR has been completed in 2016
05:01states and UTS including including Bihar West Bengal they have also shared data about the SIR exercise which is being
05:07carried out around the India they have also discussed about the Delhi deadline extension and other claims made in the
05:13Indian Express report and now the meeting is going on in the Nirvachan Bhavan the main headquarters of the election
05:19commission where
05:20chief election commissioner Ganesh Kumar is seen with both of the election commissioners SIR Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi so
05:29clearly we have seen that after the newspaper report we have seen politics has ignited where opposition parties have targeted
05:36the election commission and BJP on the various issues but now the election commission has released a statement where they
05:41have given their arguments on the accusation made by a newspaper report.
06:15DEC was never actually withdrawn. Now this is huge given the fact that the letter to the cabinet secretary was
06:21made as the very basis for which we saw the matter snowballing.
06:28So we have seen that election commissioners clearly came up discussing about this point where election commissioners said that letter
06:35to the cabinet secretary concerned an officer on the deputation not any policy matter work redistribution orders were not implemented
06:42and other DEC oversight of the IT division was
06:54So clearly we are saying that election commission is now putting their arguments in front of the public domain after
07:01the Indian Express story where the story has accused the chief election commissioner of the centralization of powers amidst the
07:08SIR exercise.
07:11So yes absolutely Anmul the meeting is underway right now but another question that I asked can we expect that
07:19the CEC along with the election commissioners will also hold a news briefing.
07:25They will come out in front of the media to answer all these questions.
07:30So we have to wait for the election commissioners next stop but we can expect a joint press conference by
07:36CECs and election commissioners because not only opposition now we are also seeing that NDA partners from Chirag Pazwan to
07:43Swaha they are all questioning the election commission and amidst this intensifying political war of words the election commission has
07:52to come out and put their arguments collectively in front of the public.
07:56Swisha Oh yes absolutely and that is important given the fact that the pressure that is also mounting on the
08:05BJP to France where the Congress is saying a why is the BJP acting as an unofficial spokesperson of the
08:11election commission of India.
08:12B. That their own allies are saying that the election commission must come out and win the faith of the
08:23voters by clearing all these doubts.
08:28Swisha election commission is the top body which conducts election and grores of the voters around India trust election commission
08:36and this is not the very first time that we are seeing that election commission has come under the epic
08:40center of controversy.
08:41Swisha earlier also we have seen that various acquisition has been made by the opposition parties like the Congress party,
08:48Amadi party, Samajwadi party but now after the report and exposure by the Indian Express the politics has further ignited
08:54where we have seen that first election commission has given a statement by their sources and then they have openly
09:00came out but they haven't dismissed about the story which was printed by the Indian Express newspaper.
09:06Swisha but now they have clearly given a long statement on the various issues like officers deputation, voter enrollment, voter
09:16enrollment issues and even Delhi deadline extension issues have been discussed in this statement and we can also expect a
09:22collective press conference by CEC and ECs to kind of clear the clouds over the election commission and over the
09:30acquisitions made in the report and by the opposition.
09:32Swisha.
09:33And we are waiting for details on that one and Mool I want to thank you for getting us all
09:38the latest.
09:38Let me also take this to Aishwarya Paliwal joining us on the broadcast.
09:41Aishwarya the meeting has just concluded as we are being told but important decisions taken there.
09:46Do give us the inside scoop because everyone awaits the news briefing and answers to all that has been going
09:54on.
09:55Well, you know, one of the important things, Swisha, that we are seeing which is being done is the fact
09:59that the letter to the cabinet secretary was not related to any policy matter.
10:03It was related to the working of an officer on deputation and election commissioners in India.
10:07The word distribution order by the concerned officers were actually implemented after orders of the two election commissions and oversight
10:14over the IT division by the CEC was actually never withdrawn.
10:17In fact, let me also tell you the schedule for the SIR for 12 states and the UTA.
10:21Now, this is something which was being done by the collective election commission on the 27th of October last year.
10:28And then again, there was an order, the schedule for the SIR for 19 states and UTAs.
10:34This, in fact, was being issued on the 14th of May this year.
10:37And this also was a unanimous decision, unanimous approval that was being taken by the election commission.
10:43So, what the election commission now is trying to say is that they have been united.
10:46And this is what we also have been reporting since day one, that the commission says that they are united.
10:52Also saying that all the decisions were taken unanimously.
10:55No dispute with regards to the way in which SIR was to be conducted across the country.
11:02Oh, yes, absolutely, Aishwarya.
11:04And with regards to the clarification that has come in, especially the letter to the cabinet secretary,
11:12where it has been said that that letter was not related to any policy matter of the commission or IT
11:20division,
11:20but it was related to the working of an officer on deputation to ECI.
11:24Point being that with these points coming in from the election commission, will the opposition actually buy into it?
11:31Or can we see more adverse reactions coming in?
11:36Well, you know, the opposition, in fact, has picked this story up.
11:39And they have been going to town saying that this is exactly what they were also claiming.
11:44But, you know, what, in fact, we have also been seeing is that the opposition now trying to rally around
11:52the report which was being done by the Indian Express
11:55and saying that this is exactly what we also have been speaking about.
11:59Now, with this clarification, we are seeing the election commission putting out a united front
12:03and clarifying the air with regards to the letters that were being written.
12:06And it is very, very clear to Isha that those letters, in fact, were being written.
12:10They were administrated in nature and they were not against the election commissioner,
12:14the chief election commissioner, Ghani Kumar, as the report was making it out to be.
12:19Oh, yes, absolutely.
12:20Because even the word coming in from the election commission to say that these are part of internal deliberations,
12:25that does not in any sense mean that there was a difference in decision making
12:29and that they were not on the same page.
12:32But we see how the opposition, especially the Congress, has been pushing the vote for Chori charge.
12:38They have been saying that, we have been saying this all along.
12:41But even with regards to the other clarifications coming in on the SIR procedure being carried out,
12:48on the extension of the dates, on helping out voters to reach out to their respective BLOs,
12:54be it in Goa, be it in other parts of Maharashtra,
12:57to say that the election commission is very, very open to helping everyone.
13:02And the idea is not to put it to be a cumbersome process,
13:08but for them to know that it is being done in a fair manner.
13:13Well, definitely, you know, elections are being conducted in a fair manner.
13:16And more importantly, what the election commission is trying to put out is a very clear message,
13:20clearly saying that the commission is united, is unanimous in the decisions that they have been taking.
13:26Yes, there were some administrative lapses about which both the election commissioners
13:30at different points of time had written,
13:32but they were administrative decisions and administrative lapses that they were, in fact, highlighting.
13:38This also speaks about the fact that there is democracy that actually is taking place inside the election commission.
13:48So these are some of the things, you know, that have been in the focus over the past few weeks.
13:53The opposition, obviously, will try to make a big story out of this.
13:56The opposition has been saying that the commission is not united,
13:59and also trying to fix both the election commissioners against the CEC.
14:02A clarification of sorts coming out in this latest statement, which is coming in.
14:07And the latest picture of all three of them just sitting together,
14:10clearly saying that all of them are united and unanimous.
14:14Faisir, stay on with us. More breaking news coming in.
14:18In the recent months, the commission has taken numerous decisions,
14:22including SIR across the country.
14:24The order for the SIR issued on the 24th of June 2025
14:27for all states, union territories, starting with Dihar,
14:30followed by West Bengal and 30 other states, union territories,
14:33was issued with the unanimous approval of the commission.
14:37The same has been upheld by the Honourable Supreme Court of India,
14:40while its order dated 27th May 2026,
14:45the schedule for SIR for 12 states and union territories,
14:48which was issued on the 27th of October 2025,
14:52and those for 19 states, union territories,
14:55was issued on the 14th of May 2026,
14:57but the unanimous approval of the commission
15:00is what the election commission of India has said.
15:04Aishwarya, the writing on the wall is very, very clear.
15:08They are stating that there is absolute unanimity
15:11between all the three,
15:14and there has been no difference on that front.
15:17They have been moving in line with what the procedure is,
15:23how it had been devised in the various states and union territories
15:27in accordance with what the Supreme Court had held.
15:31This is something that the election commission
15:33since day one has been speaking,
15:35that all the decisions have been taken unanimously,
15:37and the letter, in fact, actually being written
15:40was being written because
15:44the letter, in fact, was being written
15:47because there were some kind of administrative lapses
15:49that, in fact, one could very, very clearly see
15:55taking place,
15:56and because of those administrative lapses,
15:57the letter was being written
15:58because both the commissioners wanted the election commission
16:01to function as for the rules
16:02and to make sure that no one is flouting on the sign of truth,
16:06and if by chance there was some kind of lapse
16:09and both the commissioners felt
16:11that it had to be brought to the nations
16:12and had to be rectified as soon as possible.
16:15So, this is something that the statement,
16:18the latest statement,
16:19at the moment, is speaking about.
16:21All right, Aishwarya.
16:22I want to thank you for getting us the latest.
16:24We'll keep coming back to you for further updates,
16:26but for the moment,
16:27for our viewers to know
16:28that the meeting has very much concluded.
16:31These are the clarifications
16:32that have come in from the Election Commission of India.