Bhubaneswar: BJD president and former chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday demanded the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and called for a fresh review of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, citing reports of differences within Election Commission.Responding to media queries on reports alleging sharp differences among members of the three-member Election Commission over the conduct of SIR exercise, Naveen said, “The chief election commissioner should immediately resign, and the entire SIR process should be thoroughly revisited.” Naveen said BJD has been against this SIR process from the very beginning.On the MMDR Amendment Act, Naveen questioned criticism of the opposition, pointing out that 20 BJP MPs from Odisha had supported the bill in Parliament. He said BJD would press state govt to seek a thorough review of the law, alleging that its implementation could result in substantial revenue loss for the state.Meanwhile, Congress workers took out a protest rally in Bhubaneswar demanding the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhakta Charan Das alleged irregularities in the electoral roll revision process and said the party’s campaign against what it described as “vote theft” would continue. He claimed that concerns raised earlier by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi had now gained wider attention and called for accountability in the conduct of the electoral process.Responding to Naveen Patnaik’s remarks on the chief election commissioner (CEC) and the Congress rally, BJP MLA Irasis Acharya said the statement reinforces the perception that BJD and Congress are working in tandem, a claim he said was evident when both parties backed the same Rajya Sabha candidate earlier this year. “Naveen’s comments are an extension of the position taken by Congress MP Rahul Gandhi,” he said.“The Election Commission has already clarified the process behind its decisions. As for the amendment governing the appointment of the CEC, it was duly passed by Parliament and subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court,” Acharya said.