Block cites voter list tampering, calls for ballot‑paper elections

The India Bloc’s delegation told President Droupadi Murmu that massive alterations to voter lists and possible interference with electronic voting machines have jeopardized the sanctity of recent elections. In the memo handed over, the bloc demanded that the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, resign immediately and that the 2023 statute granting permanent legal protection to election officials be annulled.

Further, they sought an end to the Special In‑Depth Review (SIR) operation and the restoration of 13.30 crore citizens whose names were allegedly deleted from the electoral roll.

A central request was the shift back to traditional ballot‑paper voting for all future polls, arguing that paper provides a verifiable audit trail absent in electronic systems. The bloc also urged the annulment of any state assembly elections in the past two years where they claim conclusive proof of vote theft.

Present at the meeting were senior opposition leaders including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Mamata Banerjee, Umar Abdullah, Supreya Sula, M.A. Baby, Manoj Kumar Jha, D. Raja, Rajiv Rai, and Thirumavalavan. The memo emphasized that Article 326 guarantees citizens the right to vote and that the Election Commission should act as a neutral guardian, not a proprietor, of democratic integrity.