Opposition Lines Up Fresh Removal Notice Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar Over SIR Row
Two Election Commissioners’ objections over voter-roll changes trigger fresh political storm; Opposition parties prepare Parliament notice and protests.
By Pranjal Gupta
New Delhi, September 24: Troubles for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have intensified, with the INDIA bloc reportedly preparing to submit a fresh notice in Parliament seeking his immediate removal.
The Opposition is fuming over allegations of Kumar’s “autocratic” functioning inside the Election Commission, following reports that more than 13 crore names were struck off draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The notice is expected to be submitted in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha in the next few days, news agency PTI reported, quoting sources. This will be the third such attempt to move a removal notice against Kumar. The previous notice in the Rajya Sabha, moved by 73 Opposition leaders, is still pending.
The fresh notice is expected to be moved despite the earlier one remaining under consideration.
Opposition Closes Ranks
The Opposition is understood to have come on the same page over the issue, with state-level parties also planning rallies in their respective regions to register their protest against Kumar.
The latest political storm follows an investigation by The Indian Express, which reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said had been issued without their knowledge.
The objections came even as the nationwide rollout of the SIR was being supervised by the full three-member Commission.
According to the report, the concerns raised by the two Election Commissioners included changes to statutory voter-registration Form 6, the handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls, appeals concerning voter deletions and the centralised control of the electoral-roll database.
The reported objections have now become the centre of a wider political confrontation over how the SIR has been conducted.
EC Says Differences Are Part of Deliberations
Under fire over the red flags reportedly raised by its two commissioners, the Election Commission on Wednesday defended its functioning.
The poll panel said differences of views and observations were a normal part of deliberations in any institution and asserted that all its orders carried full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures.
The Commission also said that all three Election Commissioners, as well as every officer of the ECI, were fully authorised to offer suggestions for improving the electoral system.
The ECI's response came after the Indian Express report detailed the objections raised by Sandhu and Joshi over issues including Form 6, electoral-roll database access and voter deletions.
Priyanka Demands Criminal Action
Earlier on Wednesday, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra demanded the criminal prosecution of Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of committing “treason” by allegedly allowing an “unfair election” through the deletion of around 13 crore voters from electoral rolls.
“That is our very, very clear stand,” Priyanka said, arguing that anyone holding the position of CEC should not have legal protection if they had committed illegal acts.
Her remarks came amid mounting Opposition demands for Kumar's removal and an independent examination of decisions taken during his tenure.
CJP Gives 48-Hour Ultimatum
Meanwhile, the youth-led Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), while addressing the media in Delhi on Wednesday, said Kumar had 48 hours to resign, failing which it would hold another protest at Jantar Mantar.
The political pressure comes as Opposition parties seek to turn the reported differences within the Election Commission into a larger issue over the conduct of the SIR and the management of electoral rolls.
The first attempt to move a notice seeking Kumar's removal in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha was rejected, according to the Opposition. The latest move would bring the issue back to Parliament even as the earlier Rajya Sabha notice remains pending.
