Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav has alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has 'no moral right' to hold office, accusing him of acting like a 'BJP worker' amid a controversy over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Congress Accuses CEC of Partisanship
Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav on Wednesday alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had “no moral right” to continue in office, accusing him of behaving like a “Bharatiya Janata Party worker”. The remark came amid a political row over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, with Opposition parties raising questions over the functioning of the poll body.
Speaking to ANI, the Congress MP said, "Gyanesh Kumar, the chief election commissioner, has no moral right to continue as a commissioner. We have seen the way the votes have been manipulated and vote chori has been done...These kinds of practices should not be done in a democratic and autonomous body. Unfortunately, Gyanesh Kumar is behaving as a party worker of the BJP..."
"Gyanesh Kumar, the chief election commissioner, has no moral right to continue as a commissioner. We have seen the way the votes have been manipulated and vote chori has been done...These kinds of practices should not be done in a democratic and autonomous body. Unfortunately, Gyanesh Kumar is behaving as a party worker of the BJP..." Congress MP Anil Kumar Yadav said.
BJP Defends Election Commission
Responding to the allegations, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telangana State President N Ramchander Rao defended the Election Commission and accused the Congress of attempting to create suspicion against the poll body. "Even though the Election Commission of India and all three members have given a joint statement, the matter was earlier seized by the Supreme Court, and there was a lot of clarity. Yet Congress wants to mislead the people and cast suspicion over the Election Commission of India. The Congress party and alliance are bent upon defaming..." Rao told ANI.
Row Over Electoral Roll Revision
The political controversy intensified after the Indian Express report claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to electoral rolls and database access. The reported objections included issues related to Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.
The Opposition parties, including Congress, CPI, CPI(M), Trinamool Congress (TMC), Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Shiv Sena (UBT) and Left parties, have intensified their criticism of the Election Commission, alleging concerns over electoral transparency and demanding accountability.
EC Rejects Dissent Claims
However, the Election Commission rejected the suggestion that these objections represented institutional dissent over final decisions. The poll body said operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process. The Commission maintained that all decisions taken by it, including those related to SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of all three commissioners.
INDIA Bloc Demands Accountability
The INDIA bloc held a meeting in the national capital on Wednesday, with participation from Congress, Samajwadi Party, All India Trinamool Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), RJD, CPM, CPI, JKNC, JKPDP, JMM, CPI-ML, IUML, KC(M), MDMK, VCK, RSP, KC(J) and AIFB. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also called for the rollback of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, greater transparency in electoral rolls and accountability of the Election Commission, asserting that “the ballot belongs to the people.” (ANI)
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