New Delhi: Opposition parties on Wednesday stepped up their attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, demanding his removal and arrest and calling for the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The demands came after a report in The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions relating to voter registration, deletion of names and the handling of electoral-roll data.
The BJP, however, said the reported differences among the Election Commissioners showed that the Election Commission (EC) was functioning democratically and rejected the Opposition’s charge that it was being run in a “dictatorial” manner.
The Election Commission also pushed back against the report, saying differing views and observations were a normal part of institutional deliberations. It said all its orders over the past year were the outcome of unanimous decisions of the full Commission.
The Opposition parties, which have been sharply critical of the SIR exercise, seized on the reported objections to renew their demand for action against Kumar.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi reiterated his “vote chori” allegation against the EC, calling it an “act of treason” and a crime against the people of India.
“The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served,” Gandhi said.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said 73 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs had submitted a fresh notice of motion to remove Kumar on April 24.
“The Monsoon Session of Parliament has not yet been prorogued. Will the Hon’ble Rajya Sabha Chairman now decide on that pending Notice?” Kharge said.
Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal demanded that Kumar be removed and arrested.
Thackeray also called for the last elections in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu to be nullified and repolls held using ballot papers.
Kejriwal demanded that the entire SIR exercise be cancelled and all changes made under it reversed, with voter lists from three years ago restored. He also called for Kumar’s arrest and a sedition case against him.
DMK president M K Stalin demanded Kumar’s resignation and an immediate halt to the SIR exercise. He sought a fair probe into the functioning of the EC and said those responsible should be held accountable.
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also demanded Kumar’s arrest and called for fresh assembly elections in the state using the pre-SIR voter list.
“There will be pan-India protests till Gyanesh Kumar remains CEC. He should be arrested and criminal proceedings initiated against him,” Banerjee said in a Facebook Live.
TMC leader Derek O’Brien said, “Impeach CEC to save democracy.”
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh alleged that Kumar had functioned as a “hatchet man” for Union Home Minister Amit Shah and alleged that the Prime Minister and Home Minister were aware of and supported his actions.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said corrective measures were needed to prevent people from losing faith in the electoral process.
“Corrective action needs to be taken somewhere. Otherwise, if people lose faith in elections, what remains of democracy?” he said.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that interference in the EC amounted to “trampling” democracy and said governments formed while the poll panel was not functioning impartially would be “unconstitutional”.
Senior Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said Kumar had no right to remain in office and should resign, alleging that he had “hijacked” the EC.
The CPM Politburo said the reported developments raised serious questions about the functioning and integrity of the Election Commission. CPI(M) MP John Brittas wrote to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her “urgent intervention” and demanded Kumar’s removal and an immediate halt to the SIR.
Abhishek Banerjee of the TMC also demanded Kumar’s removal and sought a court-monitored investigation into the functioning of the poll panel.
At the BJP headquarters, party spokesperson Sambit Patra defended the EC, saying differences of opinion among Election Commissioners during official deliberations were a sign of democracy.
“If there is no communication and exchange of views among the election commissioners who conduct polls, the opposition parties would allege ‘dictatorship’ and call them ‘yes men’ of the government,” he said.
The Indian Express report said Sandhu and Joshi had objected to several decisions concerning changes to Form 6 for new voters, access to electoral-roll databases and the centralisation of election-related software. They had also raised questions over appeals filed in West Bengal during the SIR process.
The report said the two commissioners had recorded their objections on at least 14 occasions, including concerns that some decisions and orders had been issued without their knowledge.
The EC, however, maintained that such internal observations and differences were part of its deliberative process and reiterated that decisions taken by the Commission had been unanimous.
