New Delhi:
The Opposition is preparing to move a fresh impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with Congress taking the initiative and parties within the INDIA bloc reaching an agreement on the move, sources have told NDTV.
A notice for the motion is being drafted and could be submitted in Parliament as early as next week, according to Congress sources.
The proposed move comes a day after an 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 report has triggered a fresh political confrontation over the functioning of the Election Commission and the nationwide Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Opposition has cited the reported objections as fresh grounds for action against Mr Kumar. The Election Commission, however, has rejected any suggestion that its decisions were divided or that the two Election Commissioners had formally dissented from decisions of the full Commission.
The poll body has said that all its decisions over the past year, including those concerning SIR, were unanimous.
Fresh Motion After Earlier Notice
The proposed impeachment motion would not be the Opposition’s first attempt to initiate proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar.
On April 24, 73 Opposition MPs in the Rajya Sabha submitted a notice seeking his removal from office on grounds of alleged “proven misbehaviour”. Congress had said at the time that the notice contained nine specific charges.
That notice remains pending, according to Congress sources and Opposition leaders. The Opposition is now preparing a new notice that will incorporate the latest revelations, sources said.
The April notice was signed by 73 MPs. Opposition sources said seven of those signatories have since switched sides, prompting the need for a fresh initiative based on the current composition of the House and the latest allegations.
The move follows an earlier attempt in March, when Opposition parties had submitted notices in both Houses seeking Mr Kumar’s removal. Those notices were rejected on April 6 by the Rajya Sabha Chairman and Lok Sabha Speaker.
The procedure for removing a Chief Election Commissioner follows the same procedure applicable to the removal of a Supreme Court judge. A removal motion requires the requisite number of parliamentary members to initiate the process, followed by an inquiry if the motion is admitted and, ultimately, a special majority in Parliament.
