Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has taken a sarcastic swipe at Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in light of the ongoing political controversy over the Election Commission of India (ECI) and Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Responding to a call from West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya to honour Gyanesh Kumar with Padma Bhushan, Abdullah said the government should go further and consider the Bharat Ratna or even the President’s post for the CEC. His comments were made in the context of criticism from opposition parties over the functioning of the poll panel.
“Why stop at Padma Bhushan. Gyanesh Kumar should be awarded Bharat Ratna or made country’s President,” Abdullah said to reporters. He also spoke to the forthcoming presidential election and claimed that the CEC had done “so much for BJP”; West Bengal had been “gifted” to the party. The comments were portrayed as a political comment at BJP praise for Kumar.
The comments are happening at a time when the Election Commission has come under increased scrutiny for the SIR exercise, a massive electoral roll revision exercise. Opposition parties have raised questions about voter deletions, additions and the poll panel’s procedures.
VIDEO | Srinagar: "Gyanesh Kumar should be awarded Bharat Ratna or made country's President as he gifted Bengal to BJP", J&K CM Omar Abdullah takes jibe at CEC over SIR row. pic.twitter.com/HkRATsv7zX
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) September 29, 2026
Why does Gyanesh Kumar meet opposition criticism?
The latest controversy gathered pace after an investigation by The Indian Express revealed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months over decisions and orders related to the SIR process.
The objections were over enrolment of new voters, the removal of names from electoral rolls, access to voter databases and changes in electoral procedures. The two commissioners were concerned that some decisions had been made without their knowledge or involvement, the report indicated.
The report has intensified the debate on the internal functioning of the three-member Election Commission. It has also brought renewed attention to how decisions are made within the constitutional body and the extent to which the Chief Election Commissioner and other commissioners are involved in important electoral decisions.
But the Election Commission insists that decisions are made according to established procedures and has rejected the generalization of internal disagreements. Recent reports have also noted the commission’s response to voter-roll software issues and its review of aspects of the voter-roll updating system.
What is the SIR exercise?
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is an electoral-roll verification exercise to update voter lists. It is to check the existing entries and identify voters who may no longer be eligible because they are deceased, have permanently moved to another place or appear more than once on the rolls and will also help enrol eligible voters.
The national SIR process has generated a lot of political debate because of the scale of changes to electoral rolls. In the Indian Express, it was reported that 13 crore names were struck off draft rolls over 30 states and Union Territories during the exercise and the ECI was under intense scrutiny.
Opposition parties have argued that the process could affect genuine voters and have called for greater transparency. The Election Commission has maintained that electoral roll revision is part of its mandate and has taken steps to address concerns raised during the process.
The issue has also moved to the legal arena. The Supreme Court has allowed Gyanesh Kumar’s government to fight a petition challenging the functioning of the Election Commission as well as the legitimacy of the SIR process. Sandhu and Joshi’s objections are cited as among the reasons the petition asks for the above-mentioned decisions to be taken together.
BJP leader's praise for Gyanesh Kumar.
Omar Abdullah’s comments were triggered by the comments from West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya, who said Gyanesh Kumar deserves the Padma Bhushan “at the very least”. Bhattacharya credited the CEC with conducting an election, saying voters could vote without intimidation and the electoral rolls were cleaned up.
The BJP leader's comments came amid the political dispute over the Election Commission and the SIR process. Abdullah's response is therefore a sharp political contrast to the BJP camp’s praise.
While Abdullah’s Bharat Ratna and President observations were clearly taken as a sarcastic response, the bigger issue is the continuing dispute over the Election Commission’s functioning, the SIR exercise and the integrity of electoral rolls.
As the Supreme Court is going to hear the ECI and SIR case soon, there will be continuing scrutiny of the poll panel. Political parties, the Election Commission and reports of internal objections will be at the centre of the talk over electoral roll revision.
