New Delhi: The Opposition is preparing to
move a fresh impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh
Kumar, with Congress taking the initiative and parties within the INDIA bloc
reaching an agreement on the move, sources have told NDTV.
A notice for the motion is being drafted and
could be submitted in Parliament as early as next week, according to Congress
sources. The proposed move comes a day after an investigation by The Indian
Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek
Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to
decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including matters relating to
the revision of electoral rolls. The report has triggered a fresh political
confrontation over the functioning of the Election Commission and the
nationwide Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Opposition has cited the reported
objections as fresh grounds for action against Kumar. The Election Commission,
however, has rejected any suggestion that its decisions were divided or that
the two Election Commissioners had formally dissented, stating that all its
decisions over the past year, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.
The proposed impeachment motion would not be
the Opposition's first attempt. On April 24, 73 Opposition MPs in the Rajya
Sabha submitted a notice seeking Kumar's removal on grounds of alleged
"proven misbehaviour," containing nine specific charges. That notice
remains pending. Opposition sources said seven of those signatories have since
switched sides, prompting the need for a fresh initiative based on the current
composition of the House and the latest allegations. The procedure for removing
a Chief Election Commissioner follows the same procedure applicable to the
removal of a Supreme Court judge, requiring a special majority in Parliament.
The trigger for the fresh political offensive is the Indian Express investigation published on September 23, which reported that Sandhu and Joshi had recorded formal objections covering electoral-roll management, including the addition of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, appeals, and changes to Form 6. According to the report, the two Election Commissioners objected to changes made to the form, describing the alterations as "illegal" and "unauthorised." The Election Commission responded with an eight-point statement, asserting that written notes, observations, and internal checks are normal parts of its functioning, and that all official orders carry legal sanction. "The suggestions given by the Commissioners were for further improving the electoral processes," it said.
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