- Opposition plans third attempt to remove Chief Election Commissioner.
- Fresh notices include reported EC objections on electoral rolls.
- Earlier removal attempts rejected; Election Commission cites unanimous decisions.
Opposition parties are preparing to submit fresh notices in both Houses of Parliament seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The proposed move would mark the Opposition’s third attempt to initiate proceedings against the poll panel chief.
The notices are currently being drafted and vetted by legal experts and are expected to be submitted sometime next week, according to reports.
The move comes amid renewed Opposition criticism of the Election Commission’s functioning, particularly over issues linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A separate notice submitted by 73 Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha on April 24, seeking Kumar’s removal, is already pending in the Upper House. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had said on Wednesday that Opposition MPs in both Houses would submit fresh notices to the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman if the government decides to convene a special session of Parliament, as the Monsoon Session has not yet been prorogued.
Fresh Notices To Include Recent Issues
According to a report by the Times of India, the proposed notices in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha will include issues highlighted in a recent report by The Indian Express. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions linked to electoral-roll procedures and the SIR exercise.
The report said such objections had been recorded at least 14 times over the previous 10 months. The Election Commission, however, has maintained that differences and observations during internal deliberations are part of the institutional process and has said that its orders over the past year were unanimous.
Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien stressed the need for Opposition unity as the parties prepare to move the notices. “TMC is very happy to play the role of squirrel in the garden. Opposition has to act unitedly and swiftly,” he said.
Earlier Removal Attempts Against CEC
The latest move follows two earlier attempts to initiate proceedings against Kumar. On April 24, 73 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs submitted a fresh notice seeking his removal, citing alleged “proven misbehaviour” under constitutional and statutory provisions.
That notice followed an earlier attempt in March, when 130 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha MPs backed notices seeking Kumar’s removal. The notices were subsequently rejected by the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman.
The first notices had accused the CEC of alleged partisanship and arbitrariness in the conduct of the SIR of electoral rolls. The Opposition’s latest proposed notices are expected to incorporate the concerns raised in the recent Indian Express report.
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