New Delhi, 31 October (H.S.): The Opposition INDIA bloc on Saturday held a symbolic public ‘Jan Mahabhiyog’ (People’s Impeachment) proceeding against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar in Delhi, accusing him of alleged irregularities in the electoral process. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge presented a motion listing six charges against Kumar, while former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over the proceedings. Around 21 Opposition parties were represented at the event, which was organised along the lines of parliamentary proceedings. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi is scheduled to deliver the concluding address.

Addressing the gathering, Kharge said the Opposition had no personal animosity towards Gyanesh Kumar and was demanding that the Election Commission function independently and impartially, in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. He said the voting rights of weaker sections, women and young people could not be allowed to be quietly removed from electoral rolls through computerised processes by someone sitting in Delhi.

Kharge said that around seven months ago, 193 Opposition MPs had submitted notices in both Houses of Parliament seeking the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner. However, he alleged that no action had been taken on those notices and that they had been rejected. He said the motion presented on Saturday was intended to safeguard the dignity of a constitutional institution and ensure the fairness of the electoral process.

The Congress president alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar was the first attempt at what he described as ‘vote theft’, and that the exercise was subsequently extended across the country to remove the names of voters opposed to the BJP. He clarified that the Opposition was not seeking to retain the names of deceased voters on electoral rolls but was demanding protection for the names of genuine and eligible voters. He further alleged that the Central Government was raising the issue of infiltrators to divert attention from its failures.

The motion presented by Kharge listed six allegations against the Chief Election Commissioner. These included alleged involvement in a conspiracy to manipulate elections; the removal of 13.2 crore voters’ names through the Special Intensive Revision; changes to Form 6, used for voter registration, without parliamentary oversight; centralisation of control over electoral rolls through the ECINET platform; exclusion of the other two Election Commissioners from the decision-making process; and acting at the direction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The motion further alleged that changes to Form 6 had affected the registration of new voters. It also claimed that the use of the ERONET and ECINET software had centralised control over electoral rolls at the level of the Election Commission, undermining the authority of local Electoral Registration Officers. Alleging that the other two Election Commissioners had been sidelined in the decision-making process, the motion stated that they had to record at least 14 objections in official proceedings. These allegations formed part of the motion presented by the Opposition.

The motion also questioned the legal protection granted to the Chief Election Commissioner under the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, which was passed in December 2023. The Opposition demanded that this protection be withdrawn and that legal action be initiated against Gyanesh Kumar. It also called for criminal proceedings against him in a court of law.

Presiding over the event, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar alleged that the names of crores of people were being unfairly deleted from electoral rolls and that accountability was not being established despite questions being raised over the matter. She said the INDIA bloc had therefore decided to organise the symbolic ‘Jan Mahabhiyog’ proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar. She then invited Kharge to present the motion before the gathering.

The Opposition bloc organised the event in the format of parliamentary proceedings. However, it was a symbolic political exercise and not a formal constitutional procedure for removing the Chief Election Commissioner from office. The Opposition had previously submitted notices in Parliament seeking his removal.

Following Saturday’s programme, the INDIA bloc is scheduled to hold a rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1. According to the Congress, preparations are underway to mobilise around 10 lakh people for the event. Rahul Gandhi has said that the rally will begin at noon from the Minto Road–Connaught Place junction and proceed towards Ramlila Maidan.

The Opposition parties are organising the rally to protest alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and to demand the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar