Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on X that the Election Commission had "unilaterally" added a new mandatory section to Form 6, asking applicants whether their parents or grandparents were listed in the previous SIR, thereby creating a hurdle for first‑time Gen‑Z voters. He outlined three violations: a stealth change to the online form with no official notification, an overreach of the Commission’s powers that should lie with the Union government under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and an amendment without proper updates to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Ramesh called Kumar’s continued tenure an affront to the people of India and urged the Supreme Court to act.
The change came amid the SIR exercise that has added 2.37 crore electors aged 18‑28 since the Bihar launch in June 2026. Under the new declaration, applicants must provide SIR details of their parents, a requirement that effectively bars many young voters from registering online without a lengthy verification process. The Election Commission, however, says the statutory Form 6 itself has not been altered; only a supplementary declaration was introduced by instruction.
A poll panel functionary clarified that the declaration was added through a directive and that the Form 6 remains unchanged, meaning the online process stalls until the declaration is filled. The Commission’s stance is that the change was necessary to prevent fraud, but it has yet to issue a public statement defending the move.
In Patna, 22‑year‑old student Anil Kumar said he could not complete his registration because the new section demanded his parents’ SIR numbers, which he had not received. He told reporters that the delay had forced him to miss the upcoming election registration deadline, highlighting the human cost of the disputed change.
The next step, according to Ramesh, is for the Supreme Court to take suo‑motu cognisance, review the legality of the amendment, and order the CEC to resign or be replaced. The Court is expected to schedule a hearing within the next fortnight, making the outcome a focal point for both the Election Commission and the opposition parties.