Tezzbuzz Desk – The political controversy regarding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is continuously increasing. Opposition parties have raised questions on the Election Commission after reports surfaced that two commissioners of the Election Commission had allegedly raised objections to some decisions and matters related to Special Intensive Review (SIR). Meanwhile, former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has demanded the arrest of Gyanesh Kumar and criminal action against him.
Mamata Banerjee in her virtual address on Wednesday said that her first demand is that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar be arrested and criminal action be initiated against him. He also said that a nationwide movement would be launched demanding action against the Election Commission and leaders of the INDIA alliance would soon hold a meeting on this issue.
Mamta alleged that her party had raised questions regarding the voter list several months before the elections. He claimed that initially 58 lakh voters in Bengal were affected, after which 27 lakh names were removed and also alleged other changes. However, regarding deletion of names from the voter list, the Election Commission says that in the SIR process, names of various categories including dead, transferred, absentee and duplicate voters were examined. The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that out of the 27.16 lakh removed voters, more than 22 lakh have appealed for restoration of their names.
Mamata Banerjee also made serious allegations regarding the Bengal Assembly elections and demanded re-election on the basis of the old voter list. He said that in the states where elections were held after SIR and where according to him the rights of voters were affected, elections should also be conducted on the basis of the old voter list.
Apart from the Election Commission, he also demanded action against the officials who he alleged played a role in these processes. In these, names of other officers including Deputy Election Commissioner, IT Officer and ERO were taken.
Mamata also said that the Election Commission should not be accountable to the interests of any one political party, but to the country, democracy and the Constitution. He also appealed to the police and administrative officials to maintain political impartiality.
This entire controversy has intensified after 'The Indian Express' report, which claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had registered objections on some decisions related to voter list management and SIR. After the report, Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party and other opposition parties have put forward different demands against the CEC. The Election Commission has said that decisions related to SIR should be taken unanimously.