Punjab Takes on the Centre Over ‘Vote Chori’

• The Punjab Assembly passed a resolution seeking an independent investigation into alleged electoral irregularities under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

• Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP-led Centre of using electoral roll revisions to exclude opposition supporters.

• Congress questioned AAP’s handling of the resolution, saying its earlier proposal seeking the CEC’s resignation was not taken up.

The Punjab Assembly has unanimously passed a resolution seeking an independent inquiry into alleged electoral irregularities under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, escalating the Aam Aadmi Party government’s confrontation with the BJP-led Centre over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema moved the resolution on Friday. It was adopted in the absence of Congress and BJP legislators, with support from BSP MLA Nachhatar Pal and rebel Shiromani Akali Dal legislators Manpreet Singh Ayali and Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi.

Although the resolution focuses on the Election Commission’s functioning, the debate centred on allegations by AAP leaders that the BJP was benefiting from changes to voter lists.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that the revision exercise was selectively excluding people who supported opposition parties. “Earlier, people chose governments, now the government chooses who will vote,” he said, demanding an investigation and action against anyone found responsible.

Mann also accused the Centre of using the Enforcement Directorate and the CBI against opposition-ruled states, followed by electoral interventions that he claimed produced voter lists favourable to the BJP. He described the ruling party as a “democratically elected dictatorship”.

Cheema, meanwhile, alleged that Kumar had failed to uphold constitutional protections and that eligible citizens were being denied their voting rights. Referring to B.R. Ambedkar’s contribution to universal adult franchise, he accused the BJP of benefiting from “vote chori” in Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal.

The resolution invoked Articles 324, 325 and 326 of the Constitution, concerning the conduct and supervision of elections, protection against discrimination in electoral rolls, and adult suffrage. It raised concerns about alleged large-scale deletions of eligible voters and sought greater transparency and accountability from the Election Commission.

The House called for an independent, impartial and credible investigation into the alleged irregularities. It also urged the Centre and constitutional authorities to protect the commission’s independence and ensure accountability. Copies are to be forwarded to the President, the Prime Minister and the CEC.

The proceedings also exposed differences between AAP and Congress over how to pursue the issue.

Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said Congress had submitted a non-official resolution on 12 October demanding Kumar’s resignation. According to Bajwa, that proposal appeared on the agenda for the session’s opening day but was not discussed after the government introduced its own resolution.

“Later, AAP decided to bring its official resolution and ours was not taken up,” he said.

The dispute adds to longstanding friction between Punjab and the Centre over the role of central institutions. In 2020, the then Congress government withdrew general consent for CBI investigations in the state, requiring case-specific state permission for fresh inquiries.

The Mann government subsequently entrusted anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota’s case to the CBI, illustrating its willingness to seek the agency’s involvement in particular cases despite its broader criticism of central investigative agencies.