CEC must go, Supreme Court should act, pause SIR: Opposition after Election Commission divide out in open | Political Pulse News
WITH every BJP victory, Opposition parties have been increasingly critical of the Election Commission of India (ECI) alleging infirmities in the electoral process – from “faulty” rolls, SIR “intimidation” to “selective” application of the Model Code of Conduct.
For the first time, Opposition parties decoupled the full Commission from Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, and shifted their attack from the ECI in general to the CEC specifically.
Kumar “must go”, and “he has no right to continue in office”, was their refrain. In tandem, given the nature of the Constitutional authority, the Opposition said that the Supreme Court – already looking into aspects of the deeply contested SIR — should step in and scrutinise the decisions of the ECI.
The Indian Express reported that two of the ECI’s three Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, had objected, on the record, at least 14 times in 10 months on a range of issues: decisions taken without their knowledge; changes to Form 6 for new voters; deletion and restoration of voters in the SIR process; glaring gaps in processes that included centralisation of the voter database and its custody.
On Wednesday, the Congress, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Samajwadi Party were among those who addressed press conferences on the ECI’s conduct.
These press conferences were in some ways coordinated – sources said the leaders of the Opposition parties exchanged notes throughout the day, keen to devise a strategy to keep the heat on.
The Opposition parties put forward three key demands: the removal of CEC Kumar, an impartial investigation supervised by the top court into the working of the ECI, and halting of the SIR exercise.
“We demand Gyanesh Kumar’s immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored impartial investigation to expose the rot that has destroyed the ECI’s credibility,” Congress leader K C Venugopal said.
His senior party colleague P Chidambaram said “all decisions of the EC in recent years should be reviewed by a Parliamentary Committee.”
In Lucknow, SP leader Akhilesh Yadav asked the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the matter.
And in Kolkata, the TMC’s Abhishek Banerjee said the CEC must be removed immediately and a court-monitored investigation must be ordered.
“When grave questions affecting the democratic process are repeatedly raised and yet remain unheard, it inevitably raises questions about institutional impartiality. The Supreme Court cannot look away. The buck stops there. Will the CJI-led Bench act?” Banerjee said.
In Chennai, DMK chief M K Stalin demanded that “a fair and thorough investigation” should be carried out into “everything that has transpired within the Election Commission”, and “that those responsible should be held accountable”.
In June this year, 23 Opposition parties had written to Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant that they believed “democracy is in jeopardy” because of the manipulation of elections and partisan conduct by the ECI.
WATCH | Sukhbir Singh Sandhu & Vivek Joshi: Who Are The 2 ECs Who Objected To SIR?
CEC Kumar’s “brazenly biased conduct”, and his “open, unabashed support of the BJP during the course of and in the outcome of electoral processes”, was a matter of grave concern, the Opposition said in their letter to the CJI.
Earlier in March, as many as 63 members of Rajya Sabha and 130 of Lok Sabha had moved a motion seeking Kumar’s removal. The motion was rejected by the chairs of both Houses on April 6.
On April 24, the Opposition moved a fresh notice in Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of Kumar for “acting in a partisan manner”. The notice remains pending before the Chairman.
The parliamentary process for the removal of the CEC is akin to the impeachment of a judge of a constitutional court – it is lengthy and depends on the numerical strength of parties in the House.
But the revelations in The Indian Express have given the Opposition the opportunity to launch a political campaign.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who has repeatedly alleged “vote theft by the BJP” and “collusion by the EC”, is likely to address a press conference on Thursday.
“Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our Constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason. Justice will be served,” he said.
Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also said that if the CEC was aware of elections being rigged and had allowed it to happen, it was “treachery” and “an act of treason”.
In Kolkata, Mamata Banerjee said fresh Assembly elections should be held in West Bengal with the pre-SIR voter list, claiming that the BJP and the ECI had “looted” the polls held earlier this year.
In Patna, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed that Assembly elections in both Bihar and West Bengal had been rigged, and should be held afresh.
Akhilesh Yadav said governments formed during the period when the ECI was “not functioning impartially” were “unconstitutional”.
While all Opposition parties sought the removal of Gyanesh Kumar, AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, Mamata Banerjee, and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray also demanded the CEC’s arrest.
“There will be protests across India until such time as 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. This is another battle for freedom, this time from the compromised CEC, and the BJP that has destroyed India,” Mamata said.
CEC Kumar should be suspended immediately, Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal said called for an FIR. “If the decisions are not taken by the majority of the Election Commission, then it’s not a decision of the Commission. So, therefore, all decisions taken by the Commission so far without reference to the majority of the Commission must be declared null and void,” he said.
Thackeray said “Gyanesh Kumar should be immediately sacked and jailed”, and thanked Sandhu and Joshi for putting their objections on the record, which he said “exposed” Kumar before the country.
He also called for the cancellation of the “wrong decisions” taken by the poll panel, and demanded a probe into its functioning.
Kejriwal demanded Kumar’s immediate arrest and prosecution for treason, and said all elections held over the past few years should be cancelled and conducted afresh.
The Cockroach Janta Party, the main trigger behind the Jantar Mantar protests in the capital in July, sought to throw its weight behind the campaign to seek accountability in the ECI. Founder Abhijeet Dipke said that the CJP’s key team had cancelled their scheduled programs to head to the capital since taking on the CEC was “totally worth the hustle…”
