EC Orders Voter-Roll Software Review; Opposition Demands CEC’s Exit

The Election Commission of India on Saturday ordered a review of its voter-roll software after a newspaper report said two election commissioners had questioned Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at least 14 times in 10 months over voter-list changes that excluded millions of voters.
The Indian Express reported that the questions, raised mostly over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists that began last year, concerned deletions and additions to the rolls. The poll panel said a committee led by a senior election official and an independent technology expert would check whether the software complied with election laws and rules.
Opposition parties, led by the Congress and INDIA bloc constituents, alleged the lists were manipulated to benefit the BJP. They demanded Kumar’s resignation and said they were drafting an impeachment motion in both houses of Parliament. The BJP rejected the allegations as baseless and said the poll panel’s decisions were unanimous.
The poll panel said differing views were normal in any institution and that all its actions were lawful. Local officials will now visit voters flagged for discrepancies instead of routinely asking them to appear at government offices.
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