All-party meet must discuss flagged SIR discrepancies: Supriya

Pune: NCP (SP) working president Supriya Sule on Wednesday demanded an all-party meeting to discuss the alleged discrepancies in the SIR exercise.Supriya referred to reports where Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected to some SIR processes. “The opposition raised discrepancies in the SIR but when Election Commission of India (ECI) members have also flagged it, the matter is serious.”Officials said that the two commissioners had flagged decisions related to the deletion of names in various states during the voter roll cleanup and the handling of the voter database.Supriya added that the entire country came together during Operation Sindoor. “In SIR-related issues too, we must rise above politics to safeguard the voting rights of every citizen. Therefore, an all-party meeting should be called for a discussion.”The opposition has demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner of India Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged discrepancies in the SIR process. “It is a national issue directly related to our democratic values and the CEC should take moral responsibility. We will take it up with our INDIA bloc partners,” Supriya added.The SIR process is underway in Maharashtra. Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut on Wednesday said, ”Conducting fair elections is the responsibility of ECI but when the CEC does not perform his duties honestly, he should be suspended and legal action taken against him.”Maharashtra Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said the objections raised by Sandhu and Joshi cannot be ignored. “ECI and govt will have to answer with utmost transparency. The electoral rolls are not individual property but part of the country’s democratic process and no compromises should be made,” he added.Congress’s state spokesperson Gopal Tiwari said that in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, MVA won 31 of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra but in the assembly poll a few months later the BJP-led alliance swept the election.“Between the two elections, nearly 41 lakh voters increased in the state. Gyanesh Kumar could not give any logical explanation for the sudden rise in the number of voters. We have been saying there was ECI manipulation and we have been proved right today.”