Chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said that the foundation of India’s strong democracy is the country’s constitutional institutions and the Election Commission of India is also an independent constitutional body of the country. Addressing the media at the CM residence on Sunday, he said that the Congress should talk on facts instead of spreading confusion on constitutional institutions. A full commission meeting was held on September 26, consisting of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The note issued after the meeting has the approval of the full commission, he said.
The CM said that the ECI has clarified that the original SIR order issued on June 24, 2025, was issued unanimously by the entire commission. Subsequently, the SIR schedules for 12 States/Union Territories and then for 19 States/Union Territories were also approved unanimously by the commission. Therefore, it is not appropriate to interpret any internal comments as a disagreement with the commission’s final decision. Dhami said, “A newspaper report stated that two Election Commissioners had filed at least 14 objections on various issues, but the commission’s official position is that the final orders related to the SIR were taken unanimously. The Supreme Court, in its decision of May 27, 2026, acknowledged the ECI’s statutory power to conduct SIR and considered the SIR process adopted in Bihar to be in accordance with the Representation of the People Act and Article 324 of the Constitution.”
He pointed out that the commission has also clarified the situation regarding the letter written to the cabinet secretary. According to the commission, the letter was an administrative matter related to the functioning of an officer on deputation.
He said that regarding Form-6 also, the ECI has clarified its position in the note dated September 26, stating that the declaration related to Form-6 for SIR is based on the decision of the Supreme Court. It has also been decided that help desks will be set up and special camps will be held for people living in night shelters, laborers, the poor and the homeless.
The commission has also talked about running a special campaign to add the names of the citizens who were left out and those who are becoming voters for the first time.
Dhami said, “Questions must be asked in a democracy, but it is not appropriate to present an internal note as the final decision and an objection as an institutional breakdown. The facts should be determined not by headlines, but by the entire file and the final institutional decision.” Taking aim at the Congress, he said that the party should introspect on its political and organisational weaknesses. Using administrative and constitutional issues as a political shield to create confusion among the public will not solve the Congress’ problems, he said.
The CM said, “Facts should be examined before making political accusations on a sensitive issue like the future of the State’s youth. Mere accusations do not change the ground reality.” Referring to the Haldwani incident, he stressed that before looking at any incident from a caste perspective, it is necessary to investigate the relevant facts.
There should be no politics of dividing Uttarakhand on the basis of caste and class, he said. On the Congress’ allegations related to land, Dhami said that if the opposition has any evidence of land being sold or given away by the government or any government institution against the rules, then it should be made public.
