EC Form 6 Move Gives Oppn Fresh Ammunition minutes before INDIA bloc Meet

In a major development ahead of the commencement of the Opposition meeting on ‘Vote Chori’, the Election Commission of India has decided to withdraw the additional SIR-related declaration in Form 6 from the online voter enrolment process. This will apply in states where the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has been completed, days after the full Commission decided that the requirement would apply only during the exercise.

In states where the SIR has concluded, the additional declaration has now been removed from the ECINET app and portal, as well as the respective Chief Electoral Officer portals, leaving applicants seeking enrolment to fill only the statutory Form 6 prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

The move follows a September 26 meeting of the full Commission comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.

This has now given more firepower to the Opposition parties, which are meeting to launch a massive agitation demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and seeking action against him. The Opposition feels that the CEC’s announcement has substantiated its charge of ‘Vote Chori’ and allegations of differences among the three Election Commissioners.

The move could prove embarrassing for the government, as the issue had become a point of controversy after it emerged that Sandhu and Joshi had raised objections to changes relating to Form 6.

Form 6 is the statutory form used by eligible citizens to apply for inclusion in the electoral roll. Joshi had objected to changes to the form on the grounds that a form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, could not be modified without amending the rules. Sandhu had concurred with him.

The ECI had also said that the declaration had been upheld by the Supreme Court in its judgment on the Bihar SIR. In its September 26 statement, the Commission maintained that the orders relating to the SIR had received the unanimous approval of all three Election Commissioners.