New Delhi: The Congress on Saturday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of knowingly breaking the law and Constitutional practices by “unilaterally” changing Form 6 and called on the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance and hold him accountable.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said Kumar’s continued tenure is an affront to the people of India and that he must resign, as suggested by Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
Ramesh stated that late at night on Friday, a “panicked” Election Commission directed officers to organise special enrolment camps for young voters and give them “wide publicity” through social media.
“But the CEC himself had earlier made it virtually impossible to add young voters through a blatantly illegal and unconstitutional change to Form 6. A new mandatory section was added that asks if your parents/grandparents were in the previous SIR, creating a barrier for first-time Gen Z voters.
“The change is completely illegal. — Violation 1: In early July 2026, the online form was stealthily changed with no official notification,” the Congress leader said.
Pointing out the second violation, he said the ECI does not have the power to amend Form 6. “This power is only held by the Union Government as per The Representation Of The People Act, 1950. This is clearly a huge overreach by the Election Commission,” Ramesh said.
“Violation 3: The form was changed without any amendment to the Rules that govern it under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. That can only be done by the Union Government with proper intimation to Parliament. A statutory form, defined by the law, was unilaterally changed by the CEC Gyanesh at the instance of the rattled PM-HM duo,” he added.
Ramesh claimed that incidentally, the two election commissioners had called for this “illegal and unauthorised” change to be reversed “so young and first-time voters can register without any harassment”.
“The CEC has broken not just Constitutional conventions and practices but has also knowingly broken the law as passed by Parliament. His continuation in office is an affront to the people of India.
“A confirmed law-breaker in charge of implementing laws — what has Indian democracy degenerated to. The Supreme Court must immediately take suo motu cognisance and hold him accountable,” the Congress general secretary said.
He asserted that Kumar can still redeem himself by resigning and turning approver, a suggestion by Rahul Gandhi, adding that the youth will approve this move.
Amid a row over the Election Commission adding a declaration to the form for new voters seeking to enrol in the electoral rolls and making the registration process difficult, poll panel officials said on Friday that as many as 2.37 crore electors in the 18-28 years age bracket were added since the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was rolled out in Bihar last June.
After the change in the online form, it’s not only the existing voters who must show details of their parents in the SIR to remain on the electoral rolls; those seeking inclusion in the voter list also have to cite details of the exercise.
By issuing instructions, the Election Commission has made it mandatory to attach SIR details of parents for new voters filling Form 6 for inclusion in the electoral rolls.
A poll panel functionary underlined that the declaration was added through instructions and that Form 6 has not been amended.
If a person fills out Form 6 online, he or she cannot proceed further till the declaration is filled.
