Gyanesh Kumar a puppet, must resign: Mallikarjun Kharge's 5 demands for EC

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge called Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a "puppet" of the Modi government at a Congress Working Committee meeting. Kharge listed out five demands, including Kumar's resignation, saying he had "no right to remain in office".

In Short

• Mallikarjun Kharge says CEC Gyanesh Kumar a 'puppet' of Modi govt
• Demands PM's resignation on moral grounds for 'pressuring' Gyanesh Kumar
• Claims voters' names removed through conspiracy, demands probes

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday called Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “puppet” of the Narendra Modi government and said he had "no right to remain in office". Kharge's attack came amid a massive row over an Express report highlighting the dissent within the Election Commission (EC) regarding some aspects of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

In his opening remarks while chairing the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Kharge listed out five demands, of which he demanded that data on major changes to voter lists be made public. He also said that deleted voters should be informed and given an opportunity to appeal, and political parties be given timely access to electoral-roll data in a simple format.

“People's names are being removed from voter lists through conspiracy, and the CEC has become a puppet of the Modi government,” Kharge said, alleging that the process undermined the protection of eligible voters' rights.

He also called for independent, time-bound investigations into serious discrepancies and greater transparency in election-related data and decisions.

Kharge also demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation on moral grounds for "pressuring" the CEC. "Under these circumstances, he (Gyanesh Kumar) has no right to remain in office and should be removed immediately. Furthermore, the Prime Minister, under whose pressure he acted in this manner, should himself resign on moral grounds," he said.

Kharge said his demands were aimed at protecting voters' rights and ensuring public confidence in the electoral process.

The Congress chief said the poor bear the brunt of all the "flawed policies" of the PM. He said the vote is the most powerful weapon for the poor, Dalits, the underprivileged, and the exploited sections of society.

"That is why Modi ji wants to take away this right, but we will not allow that to happen," he stressed.

"History bears witness that ten years ago, this very prime minister devastated India's economy with the decision of 'Notebandi (demonetisation)'. And now, ten years later, he is destroying our robust democracy through a conspiracy of 'Votebandi (voter disenfranchisement)'," the Congress chief added.

The CWC meeting is being attended by former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Sachin Pilot, Mukul Wasnik, and senior leaders P Chidambaram, among others, attended the meeting.

Chief ministers of four Congress-ruled states – DK Shivakumar (Karnataka), VD Satheesan (Keralam), Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) – also participated in the meeting.

Kharge said the Congress viewed the SIR issue as a larger democratic battle, rather than merely a contest to win or lose elections.

“Elections come and go, and governments change, but democracy and the Constitution are enduring. This is the foundation of Indian democracy. We must convey to every citizen that in a democracy, the most powerful person is the ordinary voter – not the prime minister, the chief minister or a leader in power,” he said.

He said the Congress would continue to defend this principle and discharge its democratic responsibility.

“This is the spirit of the Constitution; this is the soul of democracy. The Congress will never shy away from this democratic responsibility. We must do whatever it takes – from the streets to Parliament – to ensure this,” he said.

The Congress chief referred to the explosive Indian Express investigation that reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on 14 occasions over decisions and processes related to the SIR in the last 10 months.

“Two Election Commissioners themselves have described the CEC's actions as arbitrary and improper,” he said.

The Express investigation reported that Sandhu and Joshi had formally objected to various aspects of the SIR and electoral-roll management. Their concerns included changes to Form 6, used for new voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against orders restoring voters and centralisation of the electoral-roll database.

The EC, however, said the report presented “only one part of the picture” and maintained that differences of view were part of normal deliberations. The poll panel subsequently said that decisions relating to the SIR had been taken unanimously.

At the CWC meeting, Kharge said the party's campaign was not aimed at weakening the Election Commission but at ensuring that the institution remained credible to both the BJP and the Opposition.

“Our fight is not against any party, organisation, or individual, but to protect the rights of Indian voters, the Constitution, and India's democratic system,” he said.

Kharge also backed Rahul Gandhi's earlier allegations concerning electoral-roll irregularities, saying he had raised questions based on voter data from Mahadevapura (Bengaluru), Aland (Karnataka), Haryana and Maharashtra.

“Most importantly, Indian voters should be confident that their vote is secure,” he said.

- Ends
(with inputs from PTI)