Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Electoral Officer RS Gopalan has sought voluntary retirement from government service, nearly 21 months ahead of his scheduled superannuation, saying the decision was taken for personal reasons and had nothing to do with the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Gopalan, a 2001-batch IAS officer, has been serving as Odisha's CEO since July 2024. He also holds the additional charge of Secretary in the Excise Department and was due to retire in June 2028.

Speaking to PTI, Gopalan said he wanted to leave government service to focus on his family.

"I wanted to take VRS for personal reasons. I would like to focus on personal matters. I will concentrate on my family and stay put in Bhubaneswar till my son's school education is completed," he said.

His decision comes shortly after Odisha completed its SIR exercise and published the final electoral roll on September 21. The final roll has around 3.16 crore electors. Official figures show that after claims and objections were processed, 2,90,497 electors were added and 44,777 names were deleted from the draft roll.

The SIR exercise had attracted criticism from the Opposition, particularly the Biju Janata Dal and Congress, over the deletion and verification of voter names.

Asked whether his decision to seek VRS was linked to Opposition demands for his resignation over the SIR exercise, Gopalan said, "Let them be happy if they want. I have completed 25 years in government service on September 2 and therefore decided to take VRS."

Gopalan said he had already planned to apply for voluntary retirement after the final electoral roll was published, as he considered the completion of the exercise a major milestone.

He said he had waited until the publication of the final roll because the "major task" had been completed with its release on September 21.

The SIR process had been closely watched in Odisha amid concerns over voter deletions. The draft roll published in July had seen around 20.14 lakh names identified for deletion, including voters classified as deceased, shifted or absent, and those enrolled at multiple places. The subsequent claims and objections process altered the final numbers.

The BJD had alleged that more than 27.50 lakh voters were excluded during the SIR process and claimed that details concerning the deletions were being concealed. It also alleged that the CEO had "manipulated" voter data.

The allegations came amid wider political criticism of SIR exercises in several states, with Opposition parties raising concerns about possible exclusion of eligible voters. The Election Commission has maintained that the revision process includes mechanisms for claims, objections and appeals.

Gopalan has held several senior positions during his administrative career. His previous assignments include deputy director general of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Secretary in the Labour Department and Director of Agriculture.

His request for VRS comes after another senior Odisha police officer, Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagmohan Meena, an IPS officer, resigned from government service earlier this month.

The Odisha government accepted Meena's resignation on August 27 and subsequently forwarded it to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for further processing.

Gopalan's request for voluntary retirement will similarly have to go through the prescribed government process before his retirement takes effect.