INDIA bloc holds ‘public impeachment’; Kharge moves resolution against CEC

• Mallikarjun Kharge moves a resolution seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s removal at the INDIA bloc’s “public impeachment” programme in New Delhi.

• The resolution accuses the Election Commission chief of electoral manipulation, including the deletion of 13.2 crore voters’ names through SIR.

• Opposition leaders demand safeguards for voting rights, while Trinamool Congress seeks fresh elections in West Bengal.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday moved a resolution seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at the INDIA bloc’s “public impeachment” programme, accusing him of helping the BJP manipulate elections and disenfranchise voters.

The opposition gathering brought together leaders from Congress, Trinamool Congress and the Samajwadi Party, who questioned the Election Commission’s independence and demanded safeguards against the wrongful deletion of names from electoral rolls.

The public resolution represents the opposition’s demands and accusations; it does not itself remove the CEC or constitute a judicial finding against him.

Kharge said the campaign against what the opposition calls “vote theft” was aimed at restoring confidence in election administration.

“We have no personal enmity with the CEC,” he said, maintaining that the objective was an Election Commission that functioned impartially and in accordance with the Constitution.

Resolution targets voter roll revision

The resolution placed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at the centre of its case against Kumar. It claimed that the exercise had resulted in the deliberate deletion of 13.2 crore voters’ names and described the process as partisan, opaque and contrary to natural justice.

That figure was presented as an opposition claim, rather than an independently established finding.

Kharge accused the government of using concerns about outsiders and infiltrators to justify an exercise that, he said, was removing legitimate voters.

The opposition, he argued, was defending eligible citizens’ right to remain on electoral rolls.

He also warned against decisions affecting weaker sections, women and young voters being taken through centralised computer systems without adequate accountability.

Six charges against election chief

The resolution set out six broad charges, including accusations that Kumar facilitated electoral manipulation, oversaw wrongful deletions through SIR and improperly changed Form 6, which is used for voter registration.

It further claimed that ERONET and ECINET systems had been used to centralise control over electoral rolls and restrict local Electoral Registration Officers’ ability to enrol eligible voters.

Another charge concerned the functioning of the Election Commission itself. The resolution accused Kumar and seven associates of excluding the other two election commissioners from decisions, claiming that at least 14 objections had been recorded.

It also accused Kumar of denying opposition parties a fair hearing and claimed that members of his family had received benefits because of his proximity to the government.

These accusations were made in the opposition’s resolution and were not accompanied in the supplied material by supporting records or a response from those named.

The resolution demanded the withdrawal of statutory protection for the CEC and sought criminal proceedings against him, including prosecution for what it characterised as sedition.

Kharge questions 2023 law

Kharge also criticised the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, arguing that its protections weakened accountability.

He said the legislation had been passed in December 2023 following the suspension of 145 opposition MPs.

Kharge further claimed that 193 opposition MPs had submitted notices in both Houses of Parliament seven months earlier seeking Kumar’s removal, but that those notices had been rejected.

Accusing the BJP of using institutional and political means to retain power since 2014, he linked the current electoral dispute to opposition complaints about defections, the fall of state governments, electoral bonds and the use of investigative agencies.

He also accused the government of restricting transport and internet services during protests while portraying opposition demonstrators as responsible for disorder.

TMC demands fresh Bengal elections

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose demanded Kumar’s removal, an end to SIR and fresh elections in West Bengal.

She accused the Prime Minister, Home Minister and CEC of acting together, describing the arrangement as a “Modi-Shah-Gyanesh alliance”.

Ghose claimed that the West Bengal election had been “stolen” and challenged the legitimacy of the BJP government in the state.

Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Malik, meanwhile, called SIR a “direct attack” on PDA — the party’s formulation encompassing backward classes, Dalits and minorities.

He claimed that Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class and minority voters were disproportionately losing their places on electoral rolls. Malik described the revision as electoral “match-fixing” and backed the demand for Kumar’s removal.

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar stressed the importance of protecting every eligible voter, saying that denying even one person the opportunity to vote damaged democracy.

The supplied material did not include responses from the Election Commission, Kumar, the BJP or the government to the opposition’s accusations.

With agency inputs