Rahul Gandhi Seeks Answers from ECI, TCS Over Changes to Online Form 6

New Delhi, Oct 1: Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Thursday sought answers from the Election Commission of India (ECI) over changes made to the online Form 6 used for enrolment of new voters, questioning who authorised Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to implement the modification and who approved it within the company.

In a post on social media platform X, Gandhi referred to objections reportedly recorded by Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu over the addition of a Special Intensive Revision (SIR)-related declaration to the statutory Form 6.

Gandhi raised three questions: who at the ECI instructed TCS to make the change, who at TCS approved its implementation, and whether anyone involved was pressured to carry it out.

The issue comes amid a wider controversy over the functioning of the poll panel and its ECINET digital platform, following reports that Joshi and Sandhu had raised objections to certain decisions relating to electoral rolls and the SIR exercise.

According to an investigation by The Indian Express, Joshi had objected in May to proposed changes to Form 6, arguing that the statutory form prescribed under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, could not be altered without an amendment to the rules. Sandhu subsequently supported the objection and reportedly described the changes introduced in the online Form 6 as “unauthorised/illegal”.

The additional declaration required applicants to indicate whether their own name, or that of a parent or grandparent, appeared in an electoral roll prepared during an earlier intensive revision. Although the declaration was not marked mandatory, applicants reportedly could not complete the online application without responding to it.

The ECI, however, has maintained that Form 6 itself was not amended and that the additional declaration was a requirement specifically linked to the SIR exercise. The Commission has also said the introduction of the declaration was approved unanimously and that the Supreme Court had upheld its authority to prescribe such a declaration in the context of SIR.

The controversy intensified after the full Commission, comprising Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sandhu and Joshi, met on September 26 and took several decisions concerning Form 6, electoral-roll data and the functioning of the Commission's technology systems.

The ECI subsequently withdrew the SIR-linked declaration from Form 6 in states and Union Territories where the revision exercise had been completed, while retaining it in areas where SIR was still under way.

The developments have also drawn attention to the decision-making process within the three-member poll panel. Reports have said Sandhu and Joshi recorded objections on several occasions over a 10-month period to various decisions and orders. The ECI has maintained that differences of opinion within an institution are normal and that decisions are ultimately taken with the approval of the full Commission.

Gandhi's latest intervention has put the focus specifically on the implementation of the online Form 6 modification and the chain of responsibility between the ECI and its technology service provider, TCS. His questions centre on who authorised the technical change, who approved its implementation at TCS and whether anyone involved was subjected to pressure.