New Delhi, April 24: Opposition parties on Friday submitted a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking to move a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said.
The opposition’s fresh charges on Kumar’s “proved misbehaviour” include “continued partisan asymmetry in the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct”, including the poll panel’s failure to act on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “address to the nation” on April 18.
According to sources, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and TMC leader Sagarika Ghose submitted the notice to the Rajya Sabha Secretary General.
“In the Rajya Sabha, 73 opposition MPs have just submitted a new notice of motion to their Secretary General to present an addressed resolution to the President of India, urging the removal from office of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar,” Ramesh said on X.
The Congress leader said there are now nine specific charges against the CEC, which have been recorded in “extreme detail” and which cannot be “denied or suppressed”.
“His continued hold on the position is an assault on the Constitution. It is utterly shameful that this individual remains in office, so that he can continue to act on the directions of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” Ramesh said.
The notice calls for an address to the President for Kumar’s removal, invoking provisions of the Constitution, the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
The MPs have cited a series of alleged actions and omissions by the CEC, which they claim cumulatively amount to misconduct of a “grave character”.
These include alleged partisan enforcement of the model code of conduct, public remarks and social media communication targeting a political party, administrative lapses, and conduct deemed “unbecoming” of a constitutional authority.
Members of opposition parties such as the Congress, TMC, SP, DMK, Left parties, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), RJD, IUML and “like -minded” parties have signed the notice, sources said.
The move comes days after similar notices submitted by opposition MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were rejected by the respective presiding officers. It was the first time that a notice seeking the removal of a CEC was submitted in Parliament. (PTI)
