"This is not a dictatorship, no one is satisfied with this SIR": Karnataka CM Shivakumar backs demand for CEC's resignation amid ECI row

Shivakumar's remarks add to the Congress and opposition parties' growing criticism of Kumar following an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning decisions and procedures related to electoral rolls and database access.

A day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid the row over the ECI, Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday backed the demand, alleging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was being used for political ends. Shivakumar's remarks add to the Congress and opposition parties' growing criticism of Kumar following an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning decisions and procedures related to electoral rolls and database access.

Speaking to reporters, the CM said, "We are living in the largest democratic country; this is not a dictatorship. No one is satisfied with this SIR. SIR should be done, no doubt about it, but the way it is being used politically is very wrong. So we are asking them to just give rights to everyone who is eligible." Asked about opposition parties planning to move an impeachment motion notice against the CEC, Shivakumar said the opposition was well within its rights to raise the issue. "Of course, the opposition party has every right and every voice to express its concerns," he said.

Shivakumar's remarks add to the Congress and opposition parties' growing criticism of Kumar following an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning decisions and procedures related to electoral rolls and database access. Congress state units staged agitations demanding Kumar's resignation across several states on Friday, including Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Manipur.

The Election Commission has rejected the characterisation of these objections as institutional dissent, saying operational queries, internal feedback and administrative suggestions are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body. The ECI has maintained that all final decisions concerning SIR were unanimous. (ANI)