Lucknow/ Meerut, Sept. 26 -- Amid the controversy over the functioning of the Election Commission of India and the Special Intensive Review (SIR), chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar's scheduled programmes in Meerut and Varanasi on September 25 and 28, respectively, have been postponed. The commission has not stated the reasons for the postponement. An Election Commission officer, who did not wish to be named, said the district magistrates of both districts were informed. The fresh dates for the CEC's visit will be announced later, he said. In Meerut, a regional conference of the Electoral Literacy Clubs (ELC 2.0) and ECINET as well as a dialogue with youth were scheduled for Friday. Kumar was also scheduled to interact with Gen Z in Varanasi on September 28. The postponement comes at a time when a political controversy has intensified over the Election Commission's functioning and the SIR. According to a recent media report, election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi filed written objections to decisions and orders more than 14 times in the past 10 months. It has been claimed that CEC made several decisions and issued orders without the knowledge of Sandhu and Joshi. Opposition parties are demanding the CEC's resignation. A senior district administration official in Meerut confirmed the postponement but said the Election Commission had not given any official reason for cancelling or deferring the two programmes. In August, the CEC interacted with students in Lucknow and shared information related to the electoral process, voter lists, voting, and the commission's functioning. ELC 2.0 was also launched. The commission subsequently planned to expand the campaign at the regional level in Meerut and Varanasi. Initially, two-day programmes were planned for both cities, but they were later reduced to one day each. In Meerut, the plan was to educate youth about the electoral process and answer their questions through interactions with students and teachers from educational institutions in western Uttar Pradesh. In Varanasi, the programme was also to educate youth about the electoral process, digital media, and voter services. The programmes have now been postponed....