Congress Protests Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Demands Resignation
Congress workers hold nationwide protests demanding the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities.
The Indian National Congress launched a massive wave of demonstrations across multiple states on Monday, targeting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. The party is demanding his immediate resignation, alleging serious irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Nationwide Outcry Over Electoral Rolls
From the streets of Hyderabad to the political hubs of Lucknow and Srinagar, Congress workers voiced their anger regarding the current state of voter lists. The central grievance revolves around the Special Intensive Revision process, which the party claims is being used to manipulate the democratic mandate.
In Telangana, the protest took a significant form as the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, led by president Mahesh Kumar Goud, organized a march. The demonstration moved from the Indira Gandhi statue toward the local Election Commission office to signal their dissent.
Allegations of Political Influence
Congress MP Kiran Kumar Chamala leveled heavy accusations against the central leadership during the Hyderabad protest. He alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner is acting under the influence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“This clearly shows that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have influenced the CEC to delete the votes to make sure that they continue in power for 50 years,” Chamala alleged.
Chamala further demanded the following actions:
- The immediate resignation and prosecution of Gyanesh Kumar.
- The revocation of the 2025 voter list.
- The reinstatement of 13 crore voters who have allegedly been removed.
Legal Challenges to the SIR Process
The protests were not limited to Telangana. In Patna, Left parties also joined the fray to protest against the CEC's actions. Meanwhile, in Delhi and other major cities, Congress leaders highlighted what they term as a systemic theft of the election mandate.
Congress MP Pawan Khera provided a legal perspective on the controversy, focusing on the technicalities of the voter list amendments. He argued that the Special Intensive Revision is fundamentally illegal due to a lack of legislative oversight.
Khera specifically pointed toward Form 6, claiming that any amendment to this form requires explicit parliamentary approval. According to Khera, since such approval was never sought or granted, the entire revision process is invalid.
“For an amendment to Form 6, it needs to be brought to Parliament. But it wasn't done. So, SIR becomes illegal. If SIR is illegal, all additions and deletions are illegal,” Khera stated, adding that the CEC must be removed to protect the integrity of the nation.