NEW DELHI: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday termed Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “puppet” of the ruling BJP and called for his immediate removal from office.
Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting here amid the ongoing row over the functioning of the poll panel, Kharge said Gyanesh Kumar has “no right to remain in office”.
“Two Election Commissioners themselves have described the CEC’s actions as arbitrary and improper,” Kharge said, referring to The Indian Express expose last week that Election Commissioners – Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu – had on multiple occasions raised questions over the ongoing SIR exercise and the CEC’s decisions.
“It is now common knowledge across the country that his persistent efforts have been aimed at benefiting the ruling party. Under these circumstances, he has no right to remain in office and should be removed immediately,” he added.
Kharge put forth five major demands at the CWC, noting that all data on changes in electoral rolls be made public, all voters whose names have been deleted should get a chance to appeal, and all political parties should be given electoral rolls in a simple format in time.
He also demanded that an independent, time-bound probe be conducted where serious anomalies are found and that the poll process be made transparent so no one feels that information is being hidden.
The Congress president also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that he pressured the poll panel. “Together with this, the prime minister should also resign on moral grounds for ‘pressuring’ the CEC,” the Congress chief said.
Kharge alleged that voters’ names are being removed from electoral rolls and accused the Election Commission of acting in favour of the Modi government. The remarks came amid a political row over the EC and the SIR exercise, with Opposition parties raising questions over the functioning of the poll panel.
The Indian Express had reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months on decisions and orders related to SIR and other electoral matters. The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.
Meanwhile, the poll body rejected the suggestion that these objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions, saying operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process.
Kharge on Tuesday added that the right to vote is one of the most fundamental parts of democracy and that no eligible voter should be excluded arbitrarily.
He also alleged changes in Form 6 rules, claiming these could affect young voters and said the changes were “unconstitutional.”
Maintaining that the Congress’s fight is not against any particular party, institution or individual, Kharge insisted that the party is fighting “for voters’ rights, the Constitution and the democratic system”.
Kharge said Congress wants the Election Commission to remain independent and credible, so that both the ruling party and opposition can trust its decisions.
Kharge also praised Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for raising the issue of voter list manipulation and said that all his apprehensions have proved to be true.
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