CHENNAI: Former chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Wednesday demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing a news report on objections raised by two Election Commissioners.

A detailed investigation by The Indian Express revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders concerning electoral rolls that they said were taken without their knowledge. The objections related to voter registration, deletion and restoration, appeals concerning electoral-roll entries and access to the voter database.

Stalin said the DMK and other Opposition parties had consistently opposed the SIR, alleging that the exercise, undertaken ahead of elections in several states, could result in large-scale deletion of voters from electoral rolls.

“The revelations have severely eroded the credibility of the Election Commission,” Stalin said in a statement, arguing that the three-member constitutional body was required to function collectively and transparently.

The DMK chief questioned the reported filing of appeals against the inclusion of voters whose names had been ordered to be added to the electoral rolls by courts, asking who had authorised and filed such appeals.

Stalin also raised concerns over access to the electoral-roll database, saying Electoral Registration Officers were empowered by law to scrutinise and revise electoral rolls.

“If two of the three EC members themselves were kept unaware of what was being done in the commission’s name, this cannot be dismissed as a mere internal or procedural matter,” he said.

Stalin recalled that the DMK, along with other Opposition parties, had moved a motion seeking Gyanesh Kumar’s removal in March.

“He has no right to continue in office any longer. Gyanesh Kumar must go immediately,” Stalin said, demanding a fair and thorough investigation into the functioning of the Election Commission and accountability for those responsible.

The Election Commission, however, has maintained that decisions on SIR and other matters were taken unanimously with the approval of all three commissioners.