In this episode of Editorial, HW News Managing Editor Sujit Nair dives deep into the revelations uncovered by Indian Express Ritika Chopra regarding the Election Commission of India (ECI). From local election officers in Goa being overruled by a central server in Delhi to growing dissent within the Commission itself, we break down what centralizing the ECINet software means for Indian voters and democracy.
Key Topics Covered in This Episode:
The Goa Case Study: How 97 verified, eligible voters were left off the final voter list despite 8 urgent requests sent from local election officers to ECI HQ in 7 days.
ECINet & Centralization: Why local Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) no longer have the technical authority or "rollback" access to restore wrongly deleted voters.
Loss of Basic Rights: How being removed from the electoral roll strips citizens of access to state healthcare schemes, welfare, and constitutional identity.
Legal Protection Under Clause 16: Why the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023 grants full civil/criminal immunity to top officials.
Political Reactions: Why ruling party is defending institutional decisions instead of investigating algorithmic and procedural flaws
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[00:00:00] Stop and Probe onto the Election Commission. Stop and Probe onto the Chief Election Commissioner. Stop and Probe onto everything that has happened. Every decision that has been taken by the Election Commission. Why is Bharatiya Janata Party defending the Election Commission? The questions are raised on the Election Commission. The Election Commission should be answering those questions.
[00:00:21] Why is Bharatiya Janata Party playing in Election Commission's team? So, is there a link of Bharatiya Janata Party and the Election Commission and whatever has happened?
[00:00:41] Namaskar! Welcome to another episode of Editorial. Before I begin my editorial, let me congratulate Indian Express journalist Hritika Chopra. What a fabulous investigation she did on ECI and the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner. What a fabulous investigation. What a fabulous story. I mean this kind of investigation requires guts, requires persistence and requires absolute, absolute dedication.
[00:01:10] What a journalist! So, firstly that and then let's get into the story. This story too is an Indian Express story, authored by Hritika Chopra. So, here we go. You see, the Election Commission officials in Goa has been desperately trying to get in touch with the Central Office, their Election Commission.
[00:01:33] Saying that, Baba, 97 people, 97 people who are eligible, but they are not able to vote. We can't get their names in. Why? Because your ECI net, your Election Commission net is not allowing us, is not giving us the access. So, we are not able to change. They are eligible. We are not able to put them up. We are not able to ensure that they can get an opportunity to vote.
[00:01:59] This is what the election officials in Goa are telling the Central Chief Election Commission. I wanted to listen to this video. Please listen to this video. I have made you hear this video 100 times, but I think we should hear it 120 times and I will tell you the reason why. Listen to this video. So, today we are going to listen to this video.
[00:02:20] So, today we are going to listen to this video.
[00:02:48] I told you yesterday, in advertising we always say that when a brand constantly says that you know we are the cleanest brand, it is the most corrupt brand. When a brand constantly says that we are, we give everything for service, they never give service. So, it's basically a joke in advertising, but somehow this seems to be real. Chattan ke saath khadeh, this is Chattan. Chattan is rock of Gibraltar for people who do not understand Hindi. This is the rock of Gibraltar that election commission is.
[00:03:17] You see, 97 people are supposed to vote. They have the right to vote. They are citizens of India and election commission deprives them of that vote. Election commission deprives them of that vote. I am going to read something out of this article so that you get a better understanding and then we will come back.
[00:03:36] What the two election commissioners, Sukhbi Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi primarily warned us against, the centralized ECI net and cutting out state ground level officials has played out in Goa and its trail is recorded. Four days after Goa was due to publish its final electoral role under the special intensive revision, the state's chief electoral officer wrote to the ECI in Delhi.
[00:04:06] This was his eighth time in seven days. Attached was a list of 97 voters from Goa. The state's own electoral registration officers had heard, examined and found eligible under the process laid down by the Supreme Court.
[00:04:33] 97 voters, 97 eligible voters. The chief electoral officer of Goa has written to the election commission in Delhi saying that, listen, eligible voters like I told you. And finally, nothing happened. Eight times in seven days. This is as far as the report is concerned.
[00:04:56] This is not a small issue. This is basically something that means that your democratic right has been taken away. Now, when these people come and tell us and assuming this report is true, assuming this allegations are true, assuming that this has actually happened. If now, tomorrow, when the election commission or the government comes and tells you that our election system, the whole world is praising our election system. This is what they are praising. This is what actually is happening in our election system.
[00:05:25] Let's be very mindful of this. Let's be very mindful of this. So somebody comes and tells you that tomorrow, you should know this because otherwise, end of the day, we look like fools to believe what people tell us. We when they come and tell you that rock of Gibraltar, hum, chattans, kiss, whatever. You know, we become, we look like fools. Now, let me also make a point clear here.
[00:05:51] They are not in the voters list for a go and if they are not in the voters list, it is not just their vote that they lose. They lose a lot more vote, of course, for any democracy. It's the biggest. That's the, that's the most important right that a democratic citizen has a citizen in a democracy has. It's the most important right of his others. But over and above that, let me also give you one more aspect for a go and being off the roll costs more than a vote.
[00:06:20] What I just told you, several state schemes use the electoral roll to establish eligibility. The Goa Mediclaim scheme, which funds super speciality treatment, not available in government hospitals like dialysis, angioplasty, open heart surgery, etc. Is open only to voters of the state.
[00:06:42] So, these 97 people who has been deprived, their name is not there in the vote, and their name, they have been deprived of a vote. They not only lose the right to vote, but they also lose the right to live. Because end of the day, if there is a super speciality need, there is no government scheme that will help them. Because it's linked to the, to the voter list. It is linked to the voters role. You are out of the role, you are out of the scheme.
[00:07:11] Decentralization would have given that particular regional on ground election commission officials, the right to include these 97 people because it was there. And then they could have done that. The fact that it is all centralized, and I asked you this question yesterday, and I asked you today, and this is the same thing.
[00:07:30] This is the same thing that like I told you, the commissioners have pointed out, I told you yesterday, April 16, 2026, Sukbir Singh Sandhu had written a note saying getting to know about IT modules portal from media. We don't know it. Media is telling us what are the IT portals and how they're, how they have been implemented. Again, on 29th of May, Joshi had warned that electoral rolls database is being centralized need audit. And Sandhu also endorsed it. So there was a majority.
[00:08:00] This was a majority opinion among the three, two of them endorsed it. The commissioner saw it, maybe one person ignored it. And that was the chief election commissioner. You see, please understand, please understand anything in this figure about election commission for a minute. You see, centralization only helps when it is more linked with management decisions and planning.
[00:08:27] If it is operations on ground operations, any professional will tell you the best way for on ground operations is when the entire exercise is decentralized. A person on ground gets to take a decision on ground. For instance, if that electoral officer on ground could have taken this decision, he would have on ground ensured that those 97 people who are eligible, whose documentations are right, would have been included there and then. That's efficiency.
[00:08:56] That is why we decentralize. Now imagine, he is trying to put their names, it is not reaching the center. The center cannot access it. He cannot access it. End of the day, who suffers? Those 97 voters suffered. It is not the question of 970, 9,70,000 people. It is the question of the principle. Like I said, if this happened to 97, tomorrow it could happen to 9,70,000,000. So that's the question. That's the principle that one is questioning.
[00:09:24] That's the sheer logic that one is questioning. And one wonders why? Why was this logic implemented now? What is this? What is this big idea of centralizing everything? Centralizing means few people can manage it. Why do you want few people to manage it? What is the reason behind few people managing it? What is the strategy? What does it achieve? And what is the final goal? What is the objective? Why is the Bharatiya Janata Party defending the election commission?
[00:09:53] The questions are raised on the election commission. The election commission should be answering those questions. Why is Bharatiya Janata Party playing in election commission's team? So, is there a link of Bharatiya Janata Party and the election commission and whatever has happened? Is there a link? Is that what Samit Patra's press conference proves? That somewhere down the line, Bharatiya Janata Party doesn't want the election commission to be into trouble.
[00:10:18] Or in this case, specifically, the chief election commission to be into trouble. Is that what it's all about? Yeah, this press conference. If the three commissioners are elected in the country, they don't have any trouble.
[00:10:38] This is not a problem.
[00:11:33] media I would say that today all the opposition parties have fallen into the trap the trap where they said that the election commissioner and this government was a dictatorial government rather I would say that this is pure democracy while I can understand it is the job of the government to protect all institutional bodies of this country I can understand but government
[00:12:04] not the ruling political party why is the ruling political party trying to defend something that should be investigated I would have expected the ruling party to say that listen it has to be investigated let there be investigation let the investigation tell us what is right and what is wrong shouldn't that be if you are not involved if you are non biased you want the right thing to happen that would have been your response let the investigation happen
[00:12:33] and let the investigation tell us what is right what is wrong why defend I can understand the opposition parties I can understand because it is helping their political narrative so they are in the fray they are talking about it they are calling for press conference after press conference I can understand the ruling the opposition party but ruling party why there is one more issue that I wanted to tell you do you remember that the occasion where that spree of MPs were suspended they were all outside
[00:13:03] they were all one fine day thrown out of the parliament do you remember that time 2023 that was the time when this particular bill called the chief election commissioner and other election commissioner appointment conditions of services and term of office bill 2023 was presented and passed that was the time when the MPs were thrown out and I will tell you I have read this bill out to you yesterday but I am going to read it out to you today again
[00:13:33] because I want to I want to also draw your attention to a very important clause which we didn't discuss yesterday one of the clauses I read 18 clause 18 to you 18 1 18 2 to you yesterday today I will also read clause 16 clause 16 says notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force no court shall entertain or continue any civil or criminal proceeding
[00:14:02] against any person who is or was a chief election commissioner or an election commissioner for any act thing or word committed done or spoken by him when or in the course of acting for the purpose of act in the discharge of his official duty or function this is very important clause 16 clause 16 of the chief election commissioner and other election commissioners
[00:14:31] appointment conditions of services and term of his bill 2023 very important because see this bill which was passed when the when the MPs were thrown out suspended this bill says that you can't proceed you can't do a criminal or a civil case against an election commissioner you can't you can't do anything if he has done something during his services then he is immune if he said something acted something did something
[00:15:01] he is absolutely immune no criminal no civil cases can you imagine why why such a clause why such a clause what was the need for such a clause and what was the need of passing this right in the middle of all that chaos somewhere down the line all of this cumulatively is creating a very different picture isn't it why SIR again I ask what I asked yesterday I ask again
[00:15:30] why SIR why was SIR put up in such a hurry what was the need of it SIR people got their names got deleted close to 13 crore names are deleted West Bengal is a joke West Bengal is a joke 90 lakh plus voters names were deleted 38 lakhs have appealed out of which 1 lakh is still 1 lakh decisions have been taken the rest are still waiting for their decisions to happen I mean all of this sounds like a joke why this hurry
[00:16:00] what was the hurry in all of this if it was important which it is I am sure you could have planned it like we plan other processes in our country what was the hurry wasn't this a political compulsion or I am asking you was this a political compulsion and if it is a political compulsion then the whole exercise is it fair and what was the chief election commissioner doing why is he holding power why would a person hold power if it wasn't for something
[00:16:29] that is not prescribed in the rule book why would the person want to hold power I am just asking questions because in in the way I see it if somebody is holding power or somebody is trying to grab power that means the intention of that somebody is not right this is the way I see it please let me know if I am wrong decisions are centralized others are kept away from it unanimous decisions which is the core essence of other commissioners act
[00:16:59] 2023 that is the core unanimous decisions unanimous decision seems just doesn't seem to be happening if there is a difference you have to have majority decisions even that doesn't seem to be happening but here whatever I am seeing the majority decisions are
[00:17:29] something has to be done the supreme court has to get involved the government has to come clean and take some decisions or everything will be in a question mark and the most disastrous part is that our democracy will be a question mark our elections will be a question mark that's the point I wanted to make tonight and till I see you next time that's tomorrow at 10 namaskar