New Delhi [India], September 29 (ANI): The opposition on Tuesday renewed its allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid alleged electoral irregularities, demanding his “immediate” resignation, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and restoration of over 13 lakh names removed from the electoral rolls.
The Congress held its Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi today, where key leaders including Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi, senior leader Sonia Gandhi, among others participated.
The CWC meeting passed a set of resolutions at the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, demanding the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of 13 crore 30 lakh names that the party claims have been removed from the rolls.
The CWC said it met to deliberate on what it described as a "grave danger to our democracy" posed by reports alleging the capture of the electoral process by the RSS-BJP with the alleged support of the Election Commission of India (ECI) under the current CEC.
The party said the developments vindicated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's warnings about what it termed "Vote Chori", and cited his concerns over selective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, the integrity of EVMs, additions and deletions from electoral rolls, the changed process for appointing the CEC and the grant of lifelong immunity to the CEC.
The CWC also raised concerns over reports that the ECI had been reduced to a "one-man show", alleging that the CEC was taking decisions without due consultation with the other Election Commissioners.
The political row intensified following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.
The CWC also expressed concern over what it described as the constitutional validity of SIR, claiming that the exercise had "already wiped out 13 crore 30 lakh Indians from the electoral rolls".
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also took a swipe at the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, calling him a "puppet" of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Speaking at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held in New Delhi today, Kharge accused the Modi government of systematically and conspiratorially hollowing out the democratic foundations over the past 12 years.
"The Modi government has systematically and conspiratorially hollowed out the strong democratic foundation that our forefathers built through their sacrifices and dedication over the last 12 years," he said.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said that he has "no moral right to continue" in office following alleged voter list manipulations and compromises in the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
"It's done by the clear directions of his masters; in this country, two election commissioners have written to the Cabinet Secretary also, so it's in the knowledge of the Prime Minister also. This is the moral responsibility of the PM to intervene. CWC's opinion is that PM Modi has no moral right to continue as the Prime Minister," he said.
Several Congress leaders also asserted their demand amid the Opposition’s continued protest against the CEC and the BJP.
Congress MP Kumari Selja said, “It (resignation) has to be done. They will not be able to withstand the mirror that Rahul Gandhi has held up to them—he will be forced to resign. Observing the BJP government—the Modi government's—attempts to weaken these constitutional institutions, we, the Congress party, will launch a movement under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. This movement will continue until we secure equal rights for everyone..."
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party hit out at the Congress leadership, accusing them of undermining constitutional bodies and questioning the integrity of the Election Commission of India (ECI) instead of introspecting on their electoral defeats.
Party leader Smriti Irani criticised the opposition party's recent statements regarding electoral roll updates and voter list revisions. She recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s stance that while political opposition to him is part of democracy, attacks should not target core democratic institutions.
"Prime Minister Modi has repeatedly said: criticise him, attack him, but do not let this attack turn into an assault on constitutional institutions and India's democracy," Irani stated. "However, the Congress leadership is leaving no stone unturned in tearing apart India's constitutional framework."
Addressing Congress's claims regarding voter list updates involving 13.3 crore entries, Irani highlighted that the Election Commission had already issued an official clarification explaining the door-to-door verification process carried out by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to remove duplicate and deceased voters.
She questioned the opposition’s motives in opposing the cleanup of voter rolls: "If there are duplicate names or deceased individuals in the electoral rolls, why does the Congress party want the names of deceased people restored? Why does the Congress party want duplicate entries to remain?"
Irani further challenged the Congress leadership's consistency across states where non-BJP governments are in power, such as Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Karnataka, asking whether Congress holds the ECI to the same standards in those regions.
Hitting out at the opposition for using historical parallels to attack the democratic setup, Irani remarked: "A Congress party that was created for the protection of the British Empire is today attacking the Election Commission of India... Nothing could be more shameful than this."
Notably, the INDIA Bloc is also set to hold its meeting on Wednesday (September 30), where opposition leaders are likely to deliberate on a proposed nationwide protest over allegations of electoral irregularities.
Several leaders of the opposition INDIA bloc parties are likely to participate in the meeting.
From the Congress, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge are likely to be present at the meeting. The Samajwadi Party is expected to be represented by Harendra Malik, while TMC leaders Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee are likely to attend.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti are also among the leaders expected to participate. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren is likely to join the meeting through video conference, while Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray is also expected to attend virtually.
The meeting is also likely to see participation from NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, CPM leader MA Baby, CPI leader D Raja and CPI(ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya.
Other leaders expected to join include RSP leader N K Premachandran, IUML leader Sadiq Thangal, VCK chief Thirumavalavan, MDMK leader D Vaiko.
Independent Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal is also expected to be present at the INDIA bloc meeting.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear next week a plea challenging the manner in which the Election Commission of India (ECI) is functioning, alleging that powers vested in the poll panel as a multi-member constitutional body were being exercised without following the collective decision-making mechanism mandated by law.
Senior advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant for early listing of the case, saying the statutory scheme requires decisions of the multi-member Commission to be unanimous or by majority.
Filed by Bihar-based petitioner Rakesh Kumar Singh under Article 32, the plea has sought a direction against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, contending that the CEC, as Chairman of the Commission, cannot individually exercise powers vested by Article 324 in the Election Commission as a body. (ANI)
CEC Gyanesh faces fresh Oppn heat: CWC passes resolution, BJP refutes charges as SC agrees to hear plea on ECI functioning; INDIA Bloc to hold meet on Sep 30
