Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation on moral grounds, alleging that he had pressured the poll panel chief.

Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Kharge said the party would take its opposition to the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR process to the streets as well as Parliament.

Kharge listed five demands aimed at ensuring greater transparency in the electoral roll revision process.

The Congress demanded that:

• Complete data on major changes in electoral rolls be made public.

• Voters whose names have been deleted be given complete information and an opportunity to appeal.

• Political parties be provided electoral rolls and other essential data in a simple format and in a timely manner.

• Serious discrepancies be subjected to an independent and time-bound investigation.

• Data and decisions relating to the electoral process be made sufficiently transparent to prevent allegations of information being withheld.

Kharge alleged that the Election Commission’s functioning had raised serious concerns and claimed that two Election Commissioners had described the CEC’s actions as “arbitrary and unreasonable”.

He further alleged that the CEC had been acting in a manner favourable to the ruling party and said this warranted his immediate removal.

“Congress will never back down from this democratic responsibility. We must do whatever it takes to ensure this, from the streets to Parliament,” Kharge said.

The Congress president also called for an independent, time-bound investigation wherever serious anomalies are found during the electoral roll revision process.

He additionally demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi resign on moral grounds, alleging that he had “pressured” the CEC.