FOLLOW US: @TheStatesmanLtd @thestatesmanltd thestatesman1875 www.thestatesman.com People’s Parliament, Always in Session India’s National Newspaper since 1818 | Pages 12 | ` 5.00 | KOLKATA | NEW DELHI | MUMBAI | BHUBANESWAR | LUCKNOW | SILIGURI Grid Gap Wednesday, 30 September 2026 SPORTS WORLD EDITORIAL | PERSPECTIVE Page 12 Two golds lift India to 53 medals on Day 10 of Asian Games Pakistan faces tough questions Mediators working to broker US-Iran deal, but hurdles remain Page 12 Page 7 Page 6 INDIA bloc to meet to finalise joint strategy on CEC, SIR BJP slams Cong for practising ‘politics of convenience’ STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE New Delhi, 29 September T he Opposition INDIA bloc parties will meet at the Constitution Club of India in New Delhi on Wednesday to work out a coordinated strategy to the Election Commission controversy, relating to reported differences within the poll panel over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the Opposition parties’ demand for action against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The meeting is expected to discuss a joint political and parliamentary strategy as well as plans for peaceful demonstrations across the country. Opposition parties have also been examining the possibility of a fresh removal motion against the CEC. The immediate trigger for the Opposition mobilisation was reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a 10-month period over decisions and orders relating to the SIR exercise. The Election Commision, however, has rejected the suggestion that there was a division in the Commission over policy decisions, maintaining that decisions relating to the SIR were taken unanimously and in accordance with the law. The INDIA bloc meeting is expected to consider how far the individual campaigns of Opposition parties can be brought under a common programme, including coordinated protests and parliamentary action. Among the prominent leaders expected to participate are Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and national general secretary CWC demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, halt to SIR, restoration of 13.30 crore names New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee on Tuesday demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of 13 crore 30 lakh names that the party claims have been removed from electoral rolls. The resolution adopted by the CWC, chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, described the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls as a grave threat to universal adult franchise and said the party would take the battle “in Parliament, in the courts and on the streets” until the Election Commission was restored as an independent constitutional authority. Page 5 Abhishek Banerjee. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti are also expected to attend. However, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav is expected to stay away because of a prior commitment. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), which have distanced themselves from the INDIA bloc, are unlikely to attend, but but both are learnt to have agreed to sign a notice being prepared by the Opposition seeking removal of CEC Kumar. New Delhi, 29 September The BJP on Tuesday slammed the Congress, accusing it of leveling “baseless allegations” against Constitutional and electoral institutions and practising “politics of convenience”. Addressing mediapersons, BJP spokesperson Siddharth Yadav said the Opposition had a responsibility to strengthen public trust in constitutional institutions and not question their credibility to cover up their own political failures. He also cited instances from the period when the BJP was in opposition to say that it never blamed the ECI or made any allegations on electoral processes. “Raising questions about the country’s democracy, weakening the democratic process, questioning Constitutional institutions, reducing people’s trust in constitutional institutions, and blaming and maligning Constitutional bodies to cover up one’s own failures on the ground is not the role of the Opposition,” Mr Yadav said, calling it a disservice to the nation. “It is a wrong and improper act against the country, which harms democracy and the Congress party should apologise,” he added. Mr Yadav said that on 24 August 2013, 13.58 lakh voters were deleted in Delhi, but the BJP did not describe the exercise as “vote theft” or allege that the electoral process was flawed. He also referred to August 2013, when 76 lakh voters were identified as suspect in Bihar, saying they did not question the process. He also claimed that in Maharashtra in April 2014, 70.76 lakh voters were deleted and 74 lakh added without a Special Intensive Revision (SIR). SC agrees to hear plea questioning ECI functioning PARMOD KUMAR New Delhi, 29 September The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear next week a plea questioning the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and seeking an explanation from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the authority under which he allegedly exercised, unilaterally, powers vested collectively in the threemember poll panel. The petition also seeks a declaration that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and consequential measures taken pursuant to it are void for want of lawful exercise of authority. It also seeks the preservation and production of relevant ECI records, and constitution of an independent Judicial Inquiry Commission or SIT if the records disclose that decisions were taken without the Commission's approval.