The clamour for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar intensified on Thursday. While the opposition parties are preparing a fresh notice in Parliament in this regard, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) threatened a nationwide agitation demanding the same.
Opposition parties are preparing to submit a fresh notice in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking Kumar's removal in the next few days, news agency PTI said, citing sources.
This will be the opposition's third attempt to initiate a motion for his removal. The notice is being drafted and will be vetted by legal experts before being submitted in both Houses, most likely by next week.
INDIA bloc allies are working together on the fresh notice as part of a collective effort, the sources said.
A notice moved by 73 opposition MPs on April 24 seeking Kumar's removal is pending in the Rajya Sabha. However, the opposition has decided to submit another notice in the wake of a report by The Indian Express on objections raised within the Election Commission.
According to the report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge, even as the national rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was under the supervision of the full commission.
The objections reportedly covered the amendment of statutory voter registration Form 6, additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control over the electoral roll database.
The Election Commission, however, rejected suggestions that the differences indicated irregularities in its functioning. It said differing views and observations were a normal part of institutional deliberations and maintained that all its orders had full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures.
CJP's 48-hour ultimatum
The CJP also demanded Kumar's resignation and threatened nationwide protests if he failed to step down within 48 hours. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke alleged that the electoral process had been "rigged" and accused the Election Commission of undermining citizens' voting rights.
"If Gyanesh Kumar does not resign within 48 hours, we will start a nationwide protest before coming for a protest in Delhi," Dipke said.
He warned that a "Jantar Mantar 2.0" protest would take place if Kumar did not resign.
Dipke also called for criminal proceedings against the CEC and said opposition parties should reconsider participating in elections if they believed the process was being rigged.
"If you know elections are being rigged, you cannot participate. You will have to take a stand," he said.
The Indian Youth Congress too stepped up pressure with an online petition seeking Kumar's removal.
Titled "Gyanesh, It's Done Bro", the petition also calls for his arrest and prosecution, a comprehensive investigation into the electoral process and electoral rolls, and the public release of electoral records and internal objections within the Election Commission.
The Youth Congress said the campaign was intended to take the debate over "electoral transparency and accountability beyond social media" and mobilise citizens, particularly young people, across the country.
The National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the Congress-backed student organisation, also staged a protest in Delhi on Thursday demanding Kumar's arrest over alleged irregularities in the electoral process and voter lists.
The organisation had announced a march from its headquarters on Raisina Road towards the Election Commission at Nirvachan Sadan.
The protest was held in support of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of "vote chori" and his demand for accountability from the poll panel. The NSUI demanded a "fair investigation", transparency and accountability from the Election Commission and warned that it would launch nationwide demonstrations if its demands were not met.
