Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s opposition BJD Monday said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must resign, as he had “lied” that modification of Form 6 during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was approved by the Supreme Court.
Earlier in the day, the apex court said it has not approved any modifications to Form 6, an application form through which a person seeks inclusion in the voters list, being used by the Election Commission (EC) during the SIR in various states.
The EC issued a press release September 26, suggesting that the Supreme Court had upheld the Form 6 declaration in the May 2026 judgment relating to Bihar SIR.
“Now Kumar has no option but to resign, taking moral responsibility,” BJD spokesperson Lenin Mohanty told a press conference here, referring to the top court’s observation.
While reiterating the BJD’s demand for Kumar’s resignation, BJD leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar said that the people across the country, including Odisha, have lost trust in the EC after what the Supreme Court said.
Samantsinghar said, “They (EC) must have done similar manipulation during the 2024 elections in Odisha by tampering with EVMs to make a particular party win the election”
She was alluding to the BJP which came to power in the state in 2024, dethroning the BJD.
“As Gyanesh Kumar had lied that Form 6 was approved by the Supreme Court, he has no moral right to continue but to step down,” the BJD said in a statement.
Over 27.50 lakh people were deleted from the state’s electoral roll during the SIR.
Earlier, BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik had also demanded Kumar’s resignation and a revisit of the entire SIR exercise.
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