All India Congress Committee president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge urged that the legal protection for election commissioners should be removed.
Speaking to reporters in Kalaburagi, Karnataka, on Wednesday, he said:
The government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is functioning in a way that weakens the independence of the Election Commission. The law brought in last year, 2023, which exempts the Chief Election Commissioner from being held accountable for his actions, should be repealed. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should be removed from office. The ballot paper system should be brought back.
Why did you bring in a law that grants protection to the Chief Election Commissioner? Are you above the Constitution? The 2023 law brought in regarding the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) provides protection from civil and criminal proceedings, subject to the provisions of that law, for actions taken and opinions expressed by them in the course of their official duties. This law must be repealed.
Allegations have been raised that, based on instructions issued through software from the central level, booth-level officers (BLOs) are being directed to make changes to the voter list. If elections are conducted impartially and honestly, let anyone win.
The Constitution does not say that the Congress party must win, or that any particular party must win. Opposition parties are fighting to protect democracy and to preserve the integrity and independence of the country’s institutions. This struggle is not being carried out for any individual or for any particular party.
If opposition leaders write to Prime Minister Modi, he does not respond directly. Replies are given through others. Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Kiren Rijiju has responded to the letter I wrote to the Prime Minister. But unless the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister Amit Shah take decisions on the issues concerned, such replies are of no use.
If the government decides to act arbitrarily, the people of the country will not remain silent. They will remove you from power. If the government does not correct the mistakes it has made, it will have to face public opposition.
The current strength of the Lok Sabha and the constitutional provisions in force can be used to provide 33 percent reservation for women. But Prime Minister Modi is misleading the public by creating the impression that the opposition parties are against women’s reservation.
If we had been against women’s reservation, would we have passed that law in the first place? He said the government is acting this way only with the intention of tarnishing the opposition parties’ reputation.
