The online Form 6 – which is used for fresh voter registration – was changed “illegally”, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged on Friday, asking who at the Election Commission ordered Tata Consultancy Services, or TCS, to make that change.
Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, asked whether TCS was pressured into doing this. A separate declaration was added to the physical form, regarding the mapping of voters, with the electoral rolls from the period of the previous SIR. Form 6 is used for new voter registrations, during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and is also required for re-enlisting those whose names were deleted during the enumeration phase. Read | Form 6 For New Voters: When A Small Change Triggered A Big Row
His remarks came after an investigative report by The Indian Express revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections to changes made to the online Form 6.
Both the Commissioners contended that the form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, could not be modified without amending the rules. The Election Commission, however, later clarified that no changes were made to the original statutory Form 6 and only a separate Annexure-D was attached to it during the SIR process.
In their dissent, the two Election Commissioners had reportedly said that this was beyond the poll body’s mandate and only the Law Ministry was empowered to suggest or effect any changes.
Opposition MPs are also scheduled to march to the Election Commission on October 6, while INDIA bloc leaders are expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu in the second week of October to raise their concerns.
