New Delhi, Oct 31 The Janata Dal (United) on Saturday termed the INDIA bloc’s public impeachment exercise against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “drama”, accusing the Congress of trying to push the country towards anarchy.
JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad told PTI that the exercise does not reflect the role of a constructive opposition and that the entire episode reflects an extremist perspective and will not help resolve any dispute. “This is not going to resolve any dispute in any manner. It is an attempt to push the country towards anarchy,” Prasad told PTI.
The remarks came after the INDIA bloc held a symbolic “public impeachment” of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), alleging that the right to vote is under threat as the poll panel is functioning at the behest of the Modi government.
The proceedings, presided over by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, were held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence. Moving the motion, Kharge accused CEC Kumar of treason while reading out the “charges” against him and demanded his removal, the repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment of election commissioners and an end to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
On the SIR exercise, JD(U) leader Prasad said Congress leaders should take note of the Supreme Court’s views on the issue, adding that similar revision exercises were also conducted during the Congress rule. “If they do not have faith in the judiciary, only then can they raise questions about the validity of the SIR. Similar SIR exercises were also conducted during the Congress rule,” he said.
Criticising the opposition’s “public impeachment” exercise, the JD(U) leader said it does not convey the message of a constructive opposition. “This entire impeachment exercise is nothing but a drama. The message they are trying to convey through it does not reflect the approach of a constructive opposition,” he said.
“If you have no faith in Parliament and no faith in the country’s judiciary, then such an approach cannot be justified,” Prasad said.
On the opposition’s demand for changes to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC and Election Commissioners, Prasad said the present system is more “transparent” than the procedure followed during the Congress rule. He said several election commissioners were appointed through executive orders during previous Congress governments, whereas a formal law governs the present system.
“Earlier, chief election commissioners and election commissioners were appointed through executive orders. During the Congress rule, there were several instances when election commissioners were appointed solely through executive orders,” he said.
“Today, there is a formal law, and the Leader of the Opposition has also been included as a member of the selection committee. Therefore, this law is better and more transparent than the appointment procedure followed during the Congress’s six decades in power,” Prasad said.
(PTI News)
