- Opposition plans impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
- Trinamool Congress leads opposition against voter list revision in West Bengal
- Over 63 lakh voters removed and 60 lakh under review in SIR in West Bengal
The Opposition -- which has brought a no-confidence motion against Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla -- is also preparing to take on the Chief Election Commissioner. Sources said preparations are being made to bring an impeachment motion against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
This time, the move is being spearheaded by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress in connection with the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, sources said.
With an eye to the assembly elections in the state, the Trinamool had promised not to allow the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in Bengal. But it has been unable to block the process. A petition in the Supreme Court has not helped either.
Now with over 63 lakh voters struck off the list and over 60 lakh placed under adjudication, the party -- which is hoping for a fourth straight term in power -- is livid. SO are other opposition parties -- RJD, DMK and the Congress -- in states where the SIR process has been conducted,
Read: Consulting With Parties On Impeaching Poll Body Chief Over SIR: Trinamool
Over the last three months, Trinamool has been vehemently opposing the revision process. It has pointed out what it called irregularities in the procedure and has cited the deaths of Election Commission's Block-level officials. It has also accused the poll body of taking on too much to do in a short time. The Commission had emphatically denied any wrongdoing.
Opposition Meeting
At the India Alliance meeting held in Parliament House, attended, among others, by Congress's Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Shatabdi Roy representing the Trinamool Congress said the manner in which the SIR process is being implemented in Bengal is highly unfair.
Trinamool Congress votes are being selectively deleted. Trinamool Congress leaders held three meetings with the Election Commission, but they were inconclusive, she said.
The names of genuine voters are being deleted in Bengal, which is why the Trinamool Congress wants to impeach the Chief Election Commissioner, she said.
Other opposition leaders agrees. Rahul Gandhi has been targeting the poll body since the Bihar elections and has held several press conferences in Delhi, criticising the Chief Election Commissioner on the issue of bogus voters.
The Election Commission held a major press conference in Delhi to respond to Rahul Gandhi's allegations.
Akhilesh Yadav has also questioned the SIR process in Uttar Pradesh several times. The DMK and other parties in the India Alliance have also voiced similar concerns.
Impeachment Process
The Opposition can give a notice of impeachment motion against the CEC in Lok Sabha.
The process to remove a Chief Election Commissioner is similar to that of a Supreme Court Judge.
Introducing an impeachment motion requires the signatures of 100 MPs in the Lok Sabha or 50 in the Rajya Sabha.
Read: Mamata Banerjee Launches Protest Against Bengal Voter Roll Deletions
The motion has to be passed by a two-thirds majority in both Houses of Parliament and the grounds of removal are "proved misbehaviour or incapacity".
Since the Opposition does not have the numbers to push such a motion through, this appears to be more of a pressure tactics.
No Confidence Motion Against Speaker
The no-confidence motion against Om Birla is expected to be debated in the part 2 of the Budget Session of parliament, which opened today.
If the motion is voted on though, the Opposition will lose given the numbers.
A simple majority of 272 is required to remove the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. But even with Trinamool Congress - which had announced its support at the eleventh hour, the Opposition falls short.
Read: INDIA Bloc's Big Plan Against Poll Body Boss After His Ultimatum To Rahul Gandhi
In the current Lok Sabha, the Opposition has only 238 MPs, of whom 99 are from the Congress and the rest from the Samajwadi Party, DMK, Trinamool Congress, and others.
The government has the support of 293 MPs -- 240 from the BJP, 16 from the JDU, 12 from the TDP, and other NDA parties, providing a sufficient majority.
