New Delhi. After the news of alleged differences in the Election Commission, opposition parties have opened a front against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) has demanded to call an immediate all-party meeting on this entire matter. Party MP Supriya Sule said that this is not an issue of just one political party, but a matter related to the constitutional rights of every citizen of the country. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party national president Akhilesh Yadav described the matter as serious for democracy, Kejriwal demanded action and the Left parties demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
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Know why the opposition got angry on 14 objections of two election commissioners?
The controversy started with a report which claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi lodged objections to some decisions and orders of the Election Commission at least 14 times in the last 10 months. The report mentioned matters related to registration of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, changes in Form-6 and management of electoral rolls during Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Opposition leaders have described these alleged objections as a sign of serious differences within the Election Commission. However, sources associated with the Election Commission have said that all the decisions including the SIR were taken unanimously with the approval of the three Election Commissioners.
Supriya Sule said that if the system itself starts weakening then who can be trusted in the country?
Supriya Sule said that the news of alleged differences within the Election Commission is very serious and it should be discussed openly with all political parties. He said that if the system itself starts weakening then who can be trusted in the country. Sule said the matter should not be seen as a political issue as it is related to the rights of every citizen and has now become a national issue. He also said that first it should be clear how much truth is there in the allegations that have come forward. When asked whether Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should step down from the post, he said there should be an open discussion on the truth of the allegations.
Read :- Arvind Kejriwal demanded arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, previous elections should also be cancelled.
What questions did Akhilesh Yadav raise on the Election Commission? Said why is any constitutional institution being tampered with to remain in power?
SP President Akhilesh Yadav described this matter as serious for democracy. He said that if objections are being lodged repeatedly by officials within a constitutional institution like the Election Commission, then it raises the question in whose interest the Commission was working. Akhilesh Yadav alleged that this weakens the democratic system. He also raised the question as to why any constitutional institution is being tampered with to remain in power. According to him, this entire matter needs to be considered seriously.
Arvind Kejriwal demands action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal demanded action against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. He said that Gyanesh Kumar should be arrested and prosecuted. Kejriwal also demanded that all the elections held in the last few years should be canceled and re-conducted. Explaining the structure of the Election Commission, he said that the Commission consists of a Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners and decisions are taken jointly by all three. According to him, no one person can run the Election Commission alone and the role of the Chief Election Commissioner is to preside over the meetings.
Chandrashekhar Azad expressed concern about SIR
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Nagina MP Chandrashekhar Azad termed the questions being raised on voters' right to vote through SIR as serious. Giving the example of West Bengal, he said that large-scale vote counting had come to light there and there was discussion about its impact on the election results. Azad said that the process of SIR can be done, but the manner in which questions are being raised about people's right to vote and people's names are being removed from the voter list is a matter of serious concern.
What stand did the Left parties and Trinamool Congress take?
CPI(M) MP John Brittas made sharp remarks about the Election Commission headed by the Chief Election Commissioner and demanded the removal of Gyanesh Kumar. He demanded Parliament to initiate removal proceedings against him and also appealed to the Supreme Court to intervene regarding the SIR. Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leader Derek O'Brien also raised the issue of the earlier resolution in the Rajya Sabha to remove Gyanesh Kumar. He said that after the news of the alleged objections of the two election commissioners, the time has come to take that proposal forward.
If the facts stated in the report are true then it would raise serious questions about the functioning of the Election Commission: Congress
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also attacked Gyanesh Kumar, citing reports of alleged differences in the Election Commission. At the same time, Congress leaders also raised questions on the functioning of the commission regarding the report. Congress General Secretary Jairam Ramesh shared the report and said that the party will respond in detail on the matter. Congress MP Manish Tiwari said that if the facts mentioned in the report are true then it raises serious questions about the functioning of the Election Commission. In this way, different parties of the opposition put forward different demands, but all of them prominently raised the questions related to the functioning of the Election Commission and SIR.
Chief Election Commissioner is working like an agent of Prime Minister and BJP: KC Venugopal
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Congress MP KC Venugopal made serious allegations against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on the report regarding the SIR process. He alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner is acting like an agent of the Prime Minister and the BJP. Venugopal claimed that efforts are being made through him to cut the votes of the common people of the country. He said that the Chief Election Commissioner does not have the right to continue in his post. Venugopal demanded his resignation or removal from the post. He also alleged that his functioning was harming democracy.
What did former Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi say?
Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Qureshi said that right from the beginning he had been criticizing the process of Special Intensive Review (SIR) and the arrangements being adopted in it. He said that earlier he was concerned about why both the Election Commissioners were not putting forward their objections publicly, even though they have equal rights and voting rights. Now they have come to know that both the commissioners were silently recording their objections by writing notes. Qureshi described it as positive and said that it has increased his respect for him. He said that the Constitution expects the Election Commission to be impartial and for this purpose the Commission was made multi-member.
What is the Election Commission's stand on this entire controversy?
Sources related to the Election Commission have said amidst the allegations of the opposition that all the decisions of the Commission including SIR have been taken unanimously and the approval of the three Election Commissioners is included in them. That is, while the opposition is linking the alleged 14 objections to serious differences and institutional crisis, the Commission says that different comments or suggestions may have come up in the meetings, but the final decisions were taken unanimously. In such a situation, the main center of controversy at present is whether the alleged objections of the two Election Commissioners should be considered as formal disagreement or a part of general discussion.