Agencies | New Delhi:
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday shared an image featuring three horizontal white markings and a red vertical streak, symbolising Lord Shiva, accompanied by the Sanskrit phrase “सत्यम् शिवम् सुन्दरम्” (Satyam Shivam Sundaram), amid his ongoing confrontation with the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The post came as the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear petitions challenging Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and decisions taken by the poll panel during the SIR exercise.
The development follows the Election Commission’s defence of its decision-making process before the court, where it rejected allegations that Kumar had acted unilaterally. The Commission maintained that all three orders concerning the electoral roll revision were unanimous decisions taken by its three members.
Gandhi’s latest post comes amid an escalating confrontation between the Congress leader and the Election Commission over alleged irregularities in the electoral process. Gandhi has repeatedly questioned the poll panel’s functioning and accused it of enabling “vote chori”—an allegation the Commission has contested.
On October 11, Gandhi announced a march towards the Supreme Court, urging opposition parties, civil society groups and citizens to join a protest against the alleged irregularities. He said the demonstrators would submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice of India, demanding a halt to the SIR exercise and the resignation of Kumar.
Invoking religious imagery, Gandhi described the Opposition’s agitation as “Tandav”, referring to Lord Shiva’s cosmic dance, and asserted that the resistance would continue. His remarks came amid demonstrations in Delhi against the CEC and the electoral roll revision process.
Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and other INDIA bloc leaders have approached the Supreme Court, challenging what they describe as the unilateral and arbitrary exercise of the Election Commission’s collective powers in implementing the SIR.
Their petition questions whether decisions related to the exercise were taken with the knowledge and approval of the other Election Commissioners. It also raises concerns over changes to voter-enrolment Form 6, the functioning of electoral databases and the alleged exclusion of voters without adequate notice or an effective mechanism for restoring their names.
The petitioners have sought access to relevant Commission records, an independent audit of deletions and modifications to electoral rolls, and suspension of the ongoing SIR exercise pending adjudication.
The Election Commission has rejected the central allegation, telling the Supreme Court that the three relevant orders concerning the SIR were unanimous. It has also argued that the petition relies on a single news report.
The court’s examination of the competing claims is expected to shape the course of the legal challenge, with the dispute raising broader questions about the Commission’s decision-making process, transparency in electoral roll revisions and safeguards against wrongful voter exclusion.
