New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has demanded that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar be immediately removed from office and that an investigation be conducted against him on charges of treason.
The INDIA alliance’s ‘public condemnation hearing’ against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was held today at Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Rajaji Marg in Delhi. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over it.
Opposition MPs including Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Kapil Sibal took part in this. Speaking at the event, Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is running the Election Commission in accordance with the direct orders of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
Seven months ago, 193 MPs from opposition parties brought a resolution to remove Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. But our request was rejected. It was not even taken up for consideration. Therefore, the resolution we have brought today is intended to protect the dignity of a constitutional institution.
We have no personal enmity toward the Chief Election Commissioner. Our expectation is that the Election Commission should function impartially in accordance with the spirit of the Constitution. Only then will the trust of ordinary people continue. We must ensure that the voting rights of vulnerable sections, women, and youth are not secretly removed by someone sitting in Delhi through a computer.
Since 2014, the BJP has made every effort to seize and retain power. For this, all possible conspiracies were hatched. They lured Members of Parliament to their side; broke political parties; toppled governments. And they have used electoral bonds, the Enforcement Directorate, and the CBI. Now they are stealing votes themselves.
We have hundreds of examples of such vote theft. It is only because of the Chief Election Commissioners Appointment Act, 2023 that Gyanesh Kumar is able to carry out this theft. This law was passed in December 2023 after 145 MPs from the opposition parties were suspended. This is a highly disgraceful and shameful act. This law provides election commissioners with a lifelong shield of protection. Such protection has not even been granted to the President of India or the Chief Justice of India,” he said.
