NEW DELHI — Raising the stakes in the ongoing confrontation between the Opposition and the election authority, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Friday questioned who within the Election Commission of India (ECI) authorized Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to make controversial online modifications to Form 6—the statutory document used for new voter enrollment.
Gandhi’s remarks follow news reports detailing internal dissent among Election Commissioners regarding the addition of an unapproved digital declaration field onto the Commission’s ECINET portal.
Questions Over Digital Portal Management
In a sharp post on X, the Congress leader questioned whether external pressure was exerted on the IT vendor handling the poll body’s digital backend infrastructure:
“The online Form 6 was changed illegally — as the EC’s own Commissioners have recorded. Who at the ECI ordered Tata Consultancy Services to make that change? Who at TCS signed off on it? And were they pressured into doing it?”
The controversy centers on Form 6, which is utilized for fresh voter registration during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and for re-enlisting voters whose names were removed during previous enumeration phases.
Reports indicate that an online field was added requiring applicants to declare whether their name, or that of their parents or grandparents, appeared in electoral rolls prepared during previous SIR exercises.
Internal Dissent and Statutory Rules
The political row erupted after disclosures revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections to the digital modification.
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Mandate Violations: The Commissioners reportedly argued that modifying the prescribed voter enrollment form fell outside the administrative mandate of the ECI, noting that only the Ministry of Law and Justice holds the authority to amend forms governed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
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Statutory Framework: The dissent emphasized that digital portals cannot alter statutory rules without formal legislative amendments.
Election Commission Clarifies Stand
Responding to the allegations, the Election Commission clarified that the core statutory Form 6 was never altered. Instead, the poll body stated that an auxiliary Annexure-D declaration was temporarily attached to assist the ongoing SIR process.
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Partial Removal: Effective September 30, the ECI removed the additional declaration requirement from the ECINET portal for states where the SIR exercise has concluded.
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Retained in 13 States: The declaration remains active for 13 states where voter list revision drives are still actively underway.
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Legal Backing: The poll panel cited a May 27 Supreme Court judgment upholding its authority to collect supplementary declarations during revision drives, maintaining that all formal orders regarding the SIR had the unanimous approval of the full commission.
Opposition Announces Nationwide Agitation
The Form 6 controversy has further galvanized the opposition INDIA bloc, which announced a series of coordinated agitations against the poll panel:
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District Marches: Opposition parties will hold a nationwide “Save Democracy March” across districts from October 2 to October 8.
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EC Demonstration: Opposition MPs are scheduled to march to the Election Commission headquarters in New Delhi on October 6.
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Presidential Representation: Senior leaders of the alliance are set to meet President Droupadi Murmu in mid-October to formally submit a memorandum outlining their concerns over electoral roll management.
