"Once impartial, now fraud": Aaditya Thackeray slams EC over SIR process; calls India "largest former democracy"

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 23 : Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Wednesday launched a blistering attack on the Election Commission of India (ECI), alleging that the poll panel is functioning as a partisan entity and has affected the voting rights of several Indians.
Referencing the Indian Express report that stated that two Election Commissioners had raised objections multiple times over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and electoral roll procedures, Aaditya Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the institution has compromised its neutrality, alleging that actions taken by the commission have systematically disenfranchised millions of citizens.
“This @ECISVEEP has transformed India into the world’s largest former democracy! Working as agents for one Party, to finish off India’s democracy, they have snatched away the voting rights of millions of Indians,” Aaditya Thackeray wrote.
Comparing the current state of affairs with the post-independence democratic framework, Thackeray argued that the universal adult suffrage hard-won by the country has been undermined.
“What started off with Universal Adult Franchise when India won its independence has now been turned into selected voter rolls by this institution. The institution itself, once impartial, now a fraud!” Aaditya Thackeray stated.
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress (TMC) general secretary Abhishek Banerjee demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and a court-monitored investigation, reacting to an Indian Express report which said that two Election Commissioners had raised objections multiple times over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and electoral roll procedures.
"The CEC must be removed immediately, and a court-monitored investigation ordered. Disenfranchising lakhs of voters to allegedly benefit one political party strikes at the very foundation of our democracy. Those responsible must be held accountable," Banerjee said in a post on X."
The Supreme Court cannot look away. The buck stops there. Will the CJI-led Bench act?" he added.
Congress leader P Chidambaram also reacted to the media report, saying that if the report is correct, they would raise questions about both the decisions taken by the poll body and the decision-making process.
"The news stories in the Indian Express today, if correct, shake the foundations of the Election Commission of India (ECI). There are two separate points: 1. Decision; and 2. Decision-making process," Chidambaram said in a post on X.
The Indian Express report had said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process.
The Election Commission sources, however, sought to downplay the report, stating that all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously with the approval of both Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner.
Earlier in April, Opposition parties had moved motions seeking the removal of Gyanesh Kumar. In April 2026, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said that 73 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs submitted a fresh notice seeking the removal of the CEC on grounds of "proven misbehaviour".
Ramesh had said the notice was moved under Article 324(5) read with Article 124(4) of the Constitution, along with provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
Earlier, a similar notice was submitted in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later rejected the motion after consideration, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin. The Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan also rejected the motion.