EC dissent sparks Oppn call for removal of CEC

New Delhi: A unanimous wave of uproar erupted from the Opposition on Wednesday, demanding the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray calling for Kumar’s arrest. The remarks came after a report published in a section of the press that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times in 10 months to decisions relating to electoral-roll management, including voter additions and deletions, changes to Form 6 and the centralisation of voter-roll data. The report showed that more than 13 crore names had been struck off draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories during the SIR exercise. Sandhu had called changes to Form 6 "unauthorised" and "illegal", while Joshi had questioned whether the statutory form could be altered without amending the relevant rules.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi revived his "vote chori" charge against the Election Commission and accused election officials of committing "treason". In a post on X, Rahul said, "I am telling the EC and election officials clearly: What you are doing is wrong. This is treason, this is against the country. Do not forget that. The time will come when we will catch you. You will not be able to escape."

"For several months, meetings of the Election Commission have not been taking place, while Gyanesh Kumar has continued issuing orders on his own. Therefore, the entire SIR process, through which 13 crore names have been deleted across the country, is illegal because the Election Commission has not officially approved it," Kejriwal said in a news conference.

"We demand that the entire SIR process be cancelled, that all changes made under SIR be cancelled, and that the voter list from three years ago be restored," the AAP chief said. Kumar should be arrested and a case of sedition should be registered against him, he added.

Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned the credibility of the poll panel, alleging that voters supporting his party were “systematically deleted” from the electoral rolls without any corrective action. He demanded that no future elections should be held under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Former West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also reacted to the report. "There will be pan-India protests till Gyanesh Kumar remains CEC. He must be immediately arrested and put behind bars.

The chair of the CEC is not for a person like him. It's another fight for freedom, this time from the compromised CEC, and the BJP that has destroyed India," she said.

Addressing a news conference, Uddhav Thackeray demanded that the last elections in Maharashtra, Bengal and Tamil Nadu be nullified and repolls be held in these states using ballot papers. "Gyanesh Kumar should be immediately sacked and jailed," the former Maharashtra chief minister said. "I thank Election Commissioners (ECs) Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi for exposing Gyanesh Kumar," Thackeray said.

Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke called Kumar an “enemy of India” in a post on X, and accused the CEC of “scripting” elections instead of conducting them.

Addressing a news conference, senior Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said, "There is no doubt remaining that Gyanesh Kumar has no right to remain in office and must resign." "Impeach CEC to save democracy," Congress leader Pawan Khera said in a post on X.

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