New Delhi, October 31: The INDIA bloc on Saturday held a symbolic “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of large-scale deletions from electoral rolls, compromising the independence of the Election Commission and acting at the behest of the Narendra Modi government.
The mock parliamentary proceedings were convened at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence at 10 Rajaji Marg, with former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presiding over the assembly. Kharge moved the motion against the CEC, listing six charges and demanding his removal.
Opening the proceedings after the national anthem, Meira Kumar said the assembly had been convened over allegations that crores of voters were being removed from electoral rolls without transparency or accountability.
“This assembly has been convened for the proceedings of the public impeachment against CEC Gyanesh Kumar,” she said, adding that questions raised by the INDIA bloc over voter deletions had not received satisfactory answers.
She said the proposal would be presented by Kharge and noted that people whose names had allegedly been deleted from electoral rolls were also present at the gathering.
Emphasising the significance of voting rights, Meira Kumar said India’s democratic system depended on free and fair elections.
“Everyone has the right to vote. Our democracy functions on the strength of elections. If even one voter is denied the right to cast their vote, the soul of our democracy is hurt,” she said.
Moving the motion, Kharge alleged that the constitutional right to vote under Article 326 was under serious threat and accused the CEC of functioning under the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“We are fighting for democracy. The CEC is acting on the directions of the PM and HM. Seven months ago, 193 Opposition MPs submitted a notice seeking his removal. Our notices were rejected. Today, we have brought this proposal to save the Constitution and democracy,” Kharge said.
The Congress president accused the BJP of using various means to retain power since 2014, citing alleged political defections, the splitting of political parties, toppling of elected governments, electoral bonds and the use of central agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI.
He alleged that the ruling party had now resorted to “vote chori” to influence electoral outcomes.
Kharge attributed what he described as the CEC’s ability to carry out these actions to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, which he said was passed in Parliament in December that year after 145 Opposition MPs were suspended.
The six charges levelled against Kumar included alleged attempts to influence national and state elections, deletion of 13.2 crore voters from electoral rolls, rewriting Form 6 without parliamentary oversight, taking control of electoral rolls through ECINET, excluding the other two Election Commissioners from key decisions and acting at the behest of Modi and Shah.
Kharge claimed that INDIA bloc MPs represented 60 per cent of the country’s population and said Opposition parties had united after examining allegations of electoral manipulation.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s repeated allegations of “vote chori”, he said the Election Commission had failed to provide satisfactory responses to the Opposition’s concerns. He demanded detailed data on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), including the number of deceased voters and the names of those removed from electoral rolls.
He also accused the government of suppressing protests against the SIR exercise, alleging that train services and internet connections had been suspended and young protesters arrested.
“There are shortcomings in the SIR process. Protests are taking place, but the Modi government has imposed restrictions on them. Trains have been stopped, the internet has been shut down and youngsters have been arrested. These are all your mistakes, but you blame the Opposition,” he said.
Earlier, Kharge paid tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 151st birth anniversary and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary. Recalling Indira Gandhi’s commitment to the country, he quoted her remarks on her dedication to India and its people.
The proceedings were attended by Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several senior Opposition leaders.
Among those present were independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, Samajwadi Party MPs Dharmendra Yadav, Rajiv Rai and Harendra Malik, and Trinamool Congress MPs Derek O’Brien, Mahua Moitra and Sagarika Ghose.
Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Abhishek Singhvi, Gaurav Gogoi, Manish Tewari, KC Venugopal, Kumari Selja, Ajay Maken, Pawan Khera, Deepender Hooda and Charanjit Singh Channi also attended.
Civil society representatives, including Yogendra Yadav, along with student leaders Neha Bora and Aishe Ghosh, were among those present.
Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to deliver the concluding remarks.
