'Gyanesh must go': Najeeb Jung's 3 suggestions to address EC SIR crisis

"There is no power on earth which can prevent or save a man of this type when he commits a sin of this order," says Najeeb Jung, Former Lieutenant Governor of Delhi.

His scathing remark, on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, comes amidst intense public outrage and political protests following allegations of mass voter deletions during the Election Commission's (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A group of retired senior officials led by Jung was recently blocked by massive police deployment when attempting to submit a memorandum at the Election Commission headquarters.

The Federal spoke to Jung, Former Lieutenant Governor Delhi, to discuss the institutional damage to the EC, the legal and moral ramifications of the voter roll revisions, and the growing demand for accountability.

Edited excerpts:

Have you ever seen the Election Commission face a crisis this deep during your decades in public service?

During my career of 44 to 45 years, I had the honor of conducting six or seven elections in the field when I was a young officer as an SDM and collector, and later two elections in Delhi as Lieutenant Governor supervising them. I fail to understand the mind of this gentleman. What he has done under the garb of carrying out the SIR is blatantly illegal, immoral, and his intentions are clearly in doubt.

There is no power on earth which can prevent or save a man of this type when he commits a sin of this order. The public of India now demands not only an answer but demands punishment. That is the blatant truth.

The SIR targets everyone you think will not vote for you, which can include specific tribes, castes, or religious groups.

Today, when you look at the agitations, please don't think that this is just one agitation happening; there are several types of agitations happening at the same time in the country. The first started in July with the "cockroach movement"—we have to thank the Chief Justice for this nomenclature—which gave life to the youth. There were many others, such as Sonam Wangchuk, and the AISA (All India Students' Association) volunteers who put on a fast unto death for 18 to 19 days. It was a combined effort, and they won in a way because they got the resignation of the minister (Dharmendra Pradhan).

However, it was handled in such a brutal manner that we have not seen in Independent India. These are your children, my children, and the children of my neighbors; they are not dacoits. You cannot beat them with pellet guns or with staves wrapped in barbed wire. You cannot molest girls or physically pick them up and shove them into buses in that manner. However difficult the situation was, it was allowed to get out of hand, leading to massive agitations in Mumbai and Delhi.

The EC has been a mark of respect for the rest of the world. India carries that weight of respect through this institution. Former Election Commissioner SY Quraishi once visited the UK House of Commons, and when he explained the scale, effort, and numbers involved in Indian elections, the House of Commons was stunned.

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It was very surprising when one judge remarked, "So what if you can't vote this time? You can vote next time." That is a very flippant remark. Over the past year, the Supreme Court has not been covering itself with glory in this matter. Whenever the hearing comes up, the court believes what the EC says. I am asking as the janta: why don't you believe me? I am the man who is hurt, speaking the truth that I and 13 crore voters have been deprived of our vote. Please believe what we are saying, come to the field, and see how this process is being done.

To my mind, you have to reconduct those elections. There will be a price to pay and it will take time, but during that period, you can impose President's rule and prepare fair voters' lists.

This whole mess is out in the open, and the people of India believe they have been cheated of their voting rights. When the EC accepts that there were mistakes in the SIR and reverts to the old forms, it implies that earlier elections had problems and mistakes. If people were denied their right to vote, the results may have been different.

In the minds of many people, those governments become illegitimate, and in a democracy, you must have a legitimate government. It becomes an albatross around the government's neck. To my mind, you have to reconduct those elections. There will be a price to pay and it will take time, but during that period, you can impose Governor's rule or President's rule and prepare fair voters' lists.

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Earlier, voter lists were prepared transparently. An enumerator would visit the house, verify identity cards like Aadhaar or voter identity documents for family members and workers, and register them. Here, the entire country is dissatisfied. High-profile names were missing from the list. We have made a mockery of this system by acting irrationally and illegally.

Gyanesh Kumar has to go. Furthermore, what happens to the other two commissioners sitting in the same office? They recently issued a statement that the SIR decision was taken jointly. Therefore, the entire EC must be changed. Secondly, we must revert to the old selection process involving a judge, the Prime Minister, and the Leader of the Opposition. Thirdly, lifelong immunity for misdeeds must be removed, and he must be criminally prosecuted for the harassment caused to lakhs of people.

Is the core issue here a systemic and institutional loss of integrity, rather than just about the individual at the top?

Absolutely. Gyanesh Kumar is what we call a pawn in chess; he has no independent stature. The core problem is how the process was changed, which is a matter of grave concern that must be remedied. The people of India are demanding a return to a system that is transparent and fair.

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For years, the system functioned, though there has been a deterioration over the past few terms. Optics matter; when officials take up lucrative post-retirement roles, people draw conclusions. It creates an embarrassing situation for the country.

What does the heavy deployment of 4,000 police personnel to stop a delegation of nine former senior officials say about the current state of affairs?

It is a reflection of the state of mind of Mr Gyanesh Kumar. We are 15 years senior to him, well into our 70s, and have trained officers senior to him. What fear is there from us? When fear enters your mind, you view nine retired officials as a threat. We only wanted to submit a memorandum containing charges and walk away.

Stopping entry points to the Election Commission with 4,000 police personnel against a delegation that included a former Home Secretary, two ambassadors, and a former Director of the Intelligence Bureau is absurd. The former Home Secretary was responsible for the country's law and order, and having handled the Delhi Police myself, I have never seen such an irrational imposition of Section 144 (now Section 163). You cannot restrict the right to move around in this manner.

Why do you characterise this behavior as fear rather than administrative arrogance?

There was great arrogance months ago during press conferences where aggressive statements were made against the Leader of the Opposition, demanding affidavits. Today, the situation has changed. Immunity or no immunity, it does not matter because immunity will go.

There is no one on earth who can preserve this when the people do not want it. The matter will be challenged in court, and justice must prevail. If an official makes a bona fide mistake, the law protects them. But if it is a mala fide act that deprives millions of their voting rights, immunity cannot shield them even while in office.

The honourable thing for him right now is to acknowledge the pressure and errors, write a letter, resign, and go home. Otherwise, there is no chance of his continuing because he is embarrassing the government on a daily basis.