Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav has called for the resignation of not only Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar but all Election Commissioners and officials she says were responsible for decisions concerning electoral rolls and the functioning of the poll panel.
Her remarks came as opposition parties intensified their campaign against the Election Commission after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period to decisions and orders that they said had been taken without their knowledge.
The Election Commission rejected the suggestion by saying that differing views and observations are part of deliberations within an institution and that decisions, including those relating to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, were taken with the approval of all three commissioners.
EXPLAINED | Why The Election Commission Is Facing Controversy
Speaking about the controversy, Yadav said the Samajwadi Party had been raising questions about electoral rolls for several years. She referred particularly to the 2022 elections, saying the Election Commission had issued a notice to Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav seeking affidavits in connection with alleged irregularities in voter lists.
"The Samajwadi Party submitted affidavits for 3,000 voters, yet there was no response from the Election Commission thereafter. One must acknowledge that the Chief Election Commissioner bears responsibility for this, as do the officials who executed the entire process. The Election Commission's IT cell -- which is responsible for the system being hacked -- is also accountable. Furthermore, the officials who wrote letters to the Election Commission's Chief Secretary are also responsible and deserve the strictest possible punishment." Yadav said.
On the ultimatum issued against Gyanesh Kumar by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), she said, "It should not just be about Gyanesh Kumar's resignation; every official responsible for this should resign, and the Home Minister should step down as well."
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She repeated the position while discussing the INDIA bloc's move to initiate impeachment proceedings against the Election Commission. Yadav said the Samajwadi Party supported the move and would cooperate fully. She said the party had previously signed an impeachment motion initiated by the Trinamool Congress and had stood with it.
"The Samajwadi Party supports the impeachment move. We had previously signed the impeachment motion initiated by the Trinamool Congress and stood with them. We will extend our full support and cooperation," she said.
Congress Takes Protest To Streets
The Congress organised protests in several parts of the country demanding Kumar's resignation. Demonstrations were reported in Delhi, Patna, Jammu, Kolkata, Punjab, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, among other places.
In Delhi, Congress workers broke through barricades while attempting to march towards the Election Commission headquarters. Several protesters were detained as police tried to prevent the march from reaching the poll panel's office.
READ | Water Cannons Used, Gaurav Gogoi Detained As Congress Holds Protests Against Gyanesh Kumar
"Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately. We are not going to let democracy be destroyed in India and sit silent, and the people responsible for this are going to be punished," Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said.
In a separate protest in Delhi, Indian Youth Congress workers wore masks bearing Kumar's face and staged a demonstration with their hands bound in chains. The protesters marched from the IYC office on Raisina Road towards the Election Commission headquarters, raising slogans and displaying posters demanding accountability from the CEC.
The protests followed a directive issued by the Congress on Thursday asking its state units to organise marches to their respective state election commission offices on September 25.
The party demanded the immediate arrest and removal of Kumar and called for an independent review of decisions and changes to electoral rolls made under his tenure.
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In Assam, state Congress chief Gaurav Gogoi and several party workers were detained during the protest.
In Patna, police used water cannons against Congress workers who attempted to march towards the poll panel's office.
Similar demonstrations were held in Kolkata, Chandigarh, Jammu and other state capitals. In Kolkata, Congress workers marched towards the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer while demanding Kumar's arrest.
What Triggered The Row
Aan investigation by The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months to decisions and orders of the Election Commission, including matters relating to the revision of electoral rolls.
The objections, the Indian Express reported, covered a range of issues concerning electoral-roll management, including the addition of new voters, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against decisions relating to electoral rolls and changes to Form 6, among other things.
Form 6 is the statutory form used by people applying to be registered as voters.
According to the Express report, the two Election Commissioners objected to changes made to the form, describing the alterations as "illegal" and "unauthorised". Their position, according to the report, was that the statutory form could not be changed without amendments to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
The Election Commission responded to the report on Wednesday with an eight-point statement, asserting that the ECI is a constitutional body functioning under Article 324 of the Constitution and statutory rules.
(With inputs from Pramod Kumar Pandey)
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