The content of the letter to Chief Justice of India revolved around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country, and its alleged misuse by the Election Commission of India to favour the ruling party, sources said. (Express photo)
Twenty-three Opposition parties on Tuesday sent a letter to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant appealing for the judiciary’s intervention over the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), “biased conduct” of elections by the Election Commission of India (ECI), and “manipulation” of election results.
Sources said that parties such as the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that are not in the INDIA bloc have also signed the letter along with Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party, and other parties.
The content of the four-page letter revolved around the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls across the country, and its alleged misuse by the Election Commission of India to favour the ruling party, sources said.
“We have appealed to the Judiciary to intervene because when all fails, Indian democracy looks at the Judiciary. Our letter includes specific examples from different states on how the SIR was being misused. While the larger theme is SIR, we have mentioned other election-related malpractices too and examples from different states,” said a source.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh said that on June 8, the INDIA Janbandhan meeting was attended by 21 political parties and one Independent member, during which a decision was taken to send a joint letter to the Chief Justice of India regarding the SIR process of the Election Commission of India and other related issues.
“In accordance with this, a joint letter signed by 23 political parties and one independent member has now been sent today to the Hon’ble Chief Justice,” he said in a post on X.
Ramesh added that the Opposition parties remain firmly committed to SURE – Solidarity (Unity), Unity (Oneness), and REsistance (Resistance).
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During a meeting of the INDIA bloc earlier this month, five major decisions were taken by the Opposition bloc, including to send a letter to the CJI.
The other decisions included continuing the demand for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, and to hold another meeting of the bloc in Hyderabad in two months.