Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has launched a fierce attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, labeling him a “puppet” of the ruling government and demanding his immediate removal.
Speaking at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi, Kharge equated the large-scale deletion of voters under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive to “vote-demonetisation,” while demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on moral grounds for allegedly pressuring the poll body.
Key Highlights from Kharge’s CWC Speech
- Allegations of Disenfranchisement: Kharge accused the government of targeting poor, Dalit, and youth voters through secretive modifications to the Form 6 registration process.
- Call for PM’s Resignation: The Congress chief stated Prime Minister Narendra Modi must step down for “pressuring” the CEC and undermining institutional autonomy.
- Dissent Within ECI: Highlighting reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally raised objections at least 14 times regarding ECI orders, Kharge questioned: ”The very entity empowered by the Constitution as the guardian of the people’s vote has become a plunderer of votes. How can the nation place its trust in a Chief Election Commissioner whom even his own colleagues do not trust?”
”The very entity empowered by the Constitution as the guardian of the people’s vote has become a plunderer of votes. How can the nation place its trust in a Chief Election Commissioner whom even his own colleagues do not trust?”
The Congress’s 5-Point Demands for Electoral Transparency
To address ongoing concerns surrounding the SIR drive and electoral integrity, the Congress leadership outlined five core demands:
|
# |
Demand Area |
Core Expectation |
|---|---|---|
|
1 |
Right to Appeal |
Full notification and transparent appeal mechanisms for all voters whose names have been deleted. |
|
2 |
Data Accessibility |
Provision of clear, simplified electoral roll data to all recognized political parties in a timely manner. |
|
3 |
Process Transparency |
Complete disclosure regarding internal decisions, software algorithms, and execution protocols used in the SIR drive. |
|
4 |
Form 6 Protection |
Reversal of illegal and secretive rule alterations made to Form 6 voter registration. |
|
5 |
Independent Inquiry |
An impartial review and audit into arbitrary voter deletions across states. |
Mounting Political Pressure on ECI
The Congress’s sharp offensive comes amidst a growing rift between the Election Commission and opposition parties over the SIR process, which has reportedly led to the deletion of nearly 130 million entries nationwide.
The CWC meeting precedes a crucial INDIA bloc multi-party strategy meeting scheduled for Wednesday, where opposition leaders are expected to finalize a joint political and legal strategy against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.