New Delhi, Sep 23 Left parties on Wednesday demanded removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise with CPI(M) MP John Brittas writing to President Droupadi Murmu seeking her “urgent intervention.”
Their reaction came after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders of the EC, including on addition, deletion and restoration of voters and changes to the voter registration process.
In a statement issued here, the Politburo of the CPI(M) said the revelations in the report raise serious questions not just about the process, but more importantly about the integrity of the EC itself.
“The disclosures have only strengthened suspicions and concerns that the CPI(M), other opposition parties and civil society organisations have all along raised since the SIR process was initiated,” it said.
The CPI(M) said according to the law all the three election commissioners are equal and any difference should be settled by a majority or unanimity.
“The issues raised by the two Election Commissioners go beyond the SIR process,” it said, adding, “People have lost confidence in a compromised Election Commission, for which CEC Gyanesh Kumar should be held accountable. He cannot continue in office any longer.”
The CPI(M) also demanded an “immediate halt to the SIR process”.
“The integrity and democratic functioning of the ECI must be restored. Transparency in the appointment of the Election Commissioner’s has to be ensured by scrapping the concerned legislation and enacting a new one by accepting the Supreme Court guidelines for a selection committee comprising of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and Chief Justice of India,” it said.
Brittas meanwhile wrote to President Murmu over the issue and sought her “urgent intervention.”
“With over 13 crore names reportedly struck off draft rolls across 30 States/UTs so far and over 33 lakh Delhi voters issued notices, I have urged that the pending proceedings for removal of the CEC proceed without obstruction, and that the Union Government take a clear stand before the Supreme Court seeking annulment of the SIR wherever it is found unlawful,” Brittas said in a post on X, sharing his letter.
Communist Party of India General Secretary D Raja called it a “grave crisis” and the CEC the face of an “electoral purge”.
“The CPI has consistently warned that governments cannot be allowed to handpick voters in a democracy. CEC Gyanesh Kumar has become the face of the electoral purge, eroding public trust in the constitutional body. He has no right to continue, and to restore trust and credibility in the ECI, he must resign,” he said.
“The Supreme Court should examine the decisions of the ECI and the manner in which they were taken. This crisis is inseparable from the BJP government’s 2023 changes to the appointment process of CECs and ECs, which weakened institutional independence. The ECI’s mandate is clear: every eligible citizen must be enabled to vote, and that mandate must be upheld in all circumstances,” Raja said.
CPI(ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya also said his party will approach the president regarding the issue.
In a post on X, he demanded immediate impeachment of Kumar, immediate suspension of the SIR process, urgent measures to restore the voting right of every wrongfully excluded voter, as well as cancellation of all the elections held since the launch of the SIR and order of fresh polls in states concerned.
He also demanded constitutional amendment in compliance with the spirit of the Supreme Court judgement regarding appointment of Election Commissioners and measures to ensure neutrality, transparency and accountability in the conduct of the EC.
In response to the newspaper report, EC officials said the two commissioners had flagged decisions taken during the poll roll cleanup and handling of the voter database in various states.
EC sources maintained that all decisions of the EC, including SIR, have been unanimous and with the approval of both the Election Commissioners and the CEC.
(PTI News)
