The conflict between the Election Commission and the opposition regarding Special Intensive Review (SIR) is continuously increasing in the country. 19 opposition parties including Congress are opposing this process. Rahul Gandhi has been continuously protesting on this issue for the last three days and has now reached the point of demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Meanwhile, Arun Jaitley’s statement of 2014 has again come into discussion. Jaitley had then raised questions on the Election Commission’s decision regarding Narendra Modi’s Varanasi election campaign and had said that when constitutional avenues are closed, the path of ‘Satyagraha’ has to be adopted.
What questions did Arun Jaitley raise on the Election Commission?
In May 2014, Narendra Modi was contesting the Lok Sabha elections from Varanasi. The Election Commission had not given permission to one of his rallies. BJP had opposed this. At that time, Arun Jaitley had raised questions on the functioning of the Election Commission and said that from 1952 to 2014, there is no other example when a candidate was stopped from holding a rally in his own constituency. He had said that if constitutional avenues are closed then it becomes necessary to do Satyagraha.
Why is the opposition so aggressive about SIR?
Now in 2026 the matter is of SIR. The opposition alleges that through special intensive revision, such changes can be made in the voter list, which will affect the rights of the real voters. Rahul Gandhi is continuously demanding answers from the Election Commission regarding this process. The Election Commission says that it is its constitutional responsibility to keep the voter list correct and updated and the purpose of SIR is to identify ineligible, fake or duplicate names.
What did Rahul Gandhi do in the last three days?
On October 5, Rahul Gandhi raised questions on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar regarding the changes related to Form-6. Rahul Gandhi alleged that the change in the process could benefit BJP. The Election Commission rejected these allegations and called Rahul Gandhi’s claim misleading.
On October 6, Rahul Gandhi along with MPs from INDIA block came to march towards the Election Commission office. The protesters demanded withdrawal of SIR and resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Police detained many opposition leaders including Rahul Gandhi. The next day on October 7, opposition MPs demonstrated and many leaders including Rahul Gandhi were again detained. Rahul Gandhi said that his agitation will continue till the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.
Is the SIR protest now going to become a nationwide movement?
Now Congress has decided to protest across the country on October 8. The party described October 7 as ‘Black Day’. In such a situation, the issue of SIR is no longer limited to just the process of voter list. The opposition is linking it to democracy and voters’ rights, while the Election Commission is seeing the process as a constitutional responsibility.
Has Arun Jaitley’s old talk become a political weapon for Rahul Gandhi?
Arun Jaitley’s 12 year old statement has now become a part of the political debate in the context of Rahul Gandhi’s movement. In 2014, BJP had taken to the streets against a decision of the Election Commission and today Congress is agitating raising questions on the process of the same institution. The issues of both the incidents are different, but the center of debate is about the role of the Election Commission and the right of political parties to protest against its decisions.