Published Oct 02, 2026 | 12:27 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 02, 2026 | 12:27 PM
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday, October 2, intensified criticism of the Election Commission of India (ECI) over the poll body’s statement announcing a committee to certify that its ECINet software complies with the relevant laws and rules.
Ramesh was reacting to the ECI’s September 26 press note, issued after a meeting of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, which announced a committee to review whether ECINet complies with the relevant Acts and Rules. According to the ECI, the committee will be headed by a senior Deputy Election Commissioner and include an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT.
In a post on X, Ramesh highlighted that when ECINet was launched on January 22, 2026, the poll panel assured the public it was developed in strict compliance with the Constitution, the Representation of the People Acts (1950 and 1951), and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
“All of this was a lie,” Ramesh stated. “In its damage-control but actually damage-enhancing Press Note on September 26, 2026, the Election Commission of India had promised a committee to certify that the legally suspect ECINet ‘complies with the provisions of the Acts and Rules’. In reality, this should never have been in doubt at all in the first place if the intentions of the CEC Gyanesh Kumar were honest—which they were not.”
In its damage control but actually damage enhancing Press Note on September 26, 2026 the Election Commission of India had promised a committee to certify that the legally suspect ECINet “complies with the provisions of the Acts and Rules”. In reality, this should never have been… pic.twitter.com/xYXqZTvyMo
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 2, 2026
Ramesh claimed that the ECI has central control over voter rolls that legally belong to local officials. He stated that by restricting EROs access to the ECINet, the poll body was violating the law.
“By restricting access of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to the ECINet voter roll system and by overruling EROs in states like Goa, West Bengal and others, the ECI controlled by the CEC has violated The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Both these laws establish that the ERO has statutory authority over the electoral roll,” he wrote.
Ramesh also cited a September 24 letter by the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra to the ECI, seeking correction of what he described as an “illegal state of affairs.”
Referring to the nationwide campaign announced by the Opposition, the Congress leader said, “Starting today, the INDIA janbandhan, citizens and many civil society organisations will hit the streets across the country demanding accountability for these violations of the law and the Constitution.”
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
