SIR row: 'Who is accountable?' Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Anil Desai questions EC, backs Opposition protest

Shiv Sena Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray Member of Parliament MP Anil Desai on Monday raised concerns over the Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rolls and alleged that several issues surrounding the exercise had not been adequately addressed by the Election CommissionDesai was speaking ahead of the Oppositions protest march scheduled on Tuesday over the SIR exerciseVIDEO On the Oppositions October 6 protest over SIR Shiv Sena UBT MP Anil Desai says The issues that have come to light regarding the SIR have not been properly addressed or refuted Two Election Commissioners who are responsible officials made certain remarks and after reports that appeared in the media including an Indian Express report the Election Commission also held a press conference However there was no clarification or response to the issues and remarks that had come to light People want to know what is actually happeningmdash Press Trust of India PTI_News October 5 2026He said reports and comments by Election Commission officials had brought several issues related to the SIR to light but alleged that the poll panel had not provided explanations on the specific concerns raisedSeveral issues have come to light regarding the SIR and none of the points raised have been refuted Two responsible Election Commission officials commented on the matter and reports such as the one published by the Indian Express were also carried Subsequently the Election Commission held a press conference yet there was no explanation or response regarding the specific comments and concerns that had been raised People want to know what is happening he saidDesai further raised concerns over the deletion of voters names in Maharashtra saying the development had created anxiety among voters and calling for someone to take responsibility for the situationLook at how the SIR has been conducted in every state In Maharashtra for instance we have around nine crore voters and two crore names were deleted People are worried and voters are anxious This has caused anxiety among the public and voters Who is accountable for this Someone must take responsibility and be held accountable The Chief Election Commissioner should accept responsibility for the errors that have come to light and resign That is why the protest march is taking place tomorrow he addedEC rejects rift claims as Supreme Court questions modified Form 6The controversy came after a report in The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10month period regarding decisions concerning electoral rolls voter registration and the Commissions technology systemsHowever the Election Commission has rejected suggestions of an internal rift and maintained that all decisions taken by the poll panel including those related to SIR were unanimous and had the approval of all three commissionersMeanwhile earlier in the day the Supreme Court said that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 being used for enrolment of new voters during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision SIR of electoral rollsA bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said the court would examine the record to ascertain who had introduced the changes after the Election Commission claimed last week that the new declaration attached to the online Form 6 had been approved by the apex courtAny modified Form 6 has not been approved by us Letrsquos be clear When the record is produced we would like to see who has modified it the CJI observedThe clarification came while hearing a plea filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi seeking prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and other officials over alleged unilateral decisions concerning the SIR exerciseThe controversy concerns a new declaration in Form 6 requiring applicants to state whether they or their parents were mapped in the previous SIR The requirement was not part of the earlier Form 6 used during SIR exercises in other StatesWith ANI and PTI inputs