NEW DELHI: Leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of facilitating “vote theft” and listed six charges against him at a symbolic “public impeachment” organised by the opposition INDIA bloc.Kharge alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was initiated to remove voters opposed to the BJP. The proceedings began at his residence on Rajaji Marg, with former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar chairing the event.Kharge accused the CEC of centralising control over electoral rolls and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.During the proceedings, Kharge listed six allegations against Kumar:
- Conspired to steal elections
- Deleted 13.3 crore voters
- Rewrote Form 6 without parliamentary oversight or knowledge
- Seized the electoral rolls through ECINET
- Breached his constitutional mandate and shut out the two other election commissioners
- Acted at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah
Kharge also reiterated the opposition’s three demands:
- The removal of the CEC
- An end to the SIR exercise
- Changes to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the chief election commissioner.
Kharge also accused PM Modi government of using various means to retain power since 2014, including defections, splitting parties, misuse of central agencies and alleged electoral irregularities.“The proposal we are bringing today is to safeguard the dignity of a constitutional institution. We have no personal enmity with the CEC. Our intention is that the Election Commission should function impartially in keeping with the spirit of the Constitution. The trust of the common man in it should remain intact. No one sitting in Delhi should be able to wrongly delete the voting rights of weaker sections, women, and youth using a computer,” Kharge posted on X.He further alleged that the government had repeatedly tried to retain power through various means.“The Modi government has hatched every conspiracy since 2014 to cling to power: stealing MPs, breaking parties, stealing governments, Electoral Bonds, misuse of ED/CBI. And now Vote Theft—cut opposition votes and rule. There are hundreds of examples of Vote Theft,” he said.Kharge also criticised the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), alleging that it provided the election commissioner with legal protection.“Gyanesh Kumar is able to carry out this theft because of the 2023 CEC Act. In December 2023, this bill was passed by suspending 145 opposition MPs. This law gives the CEC a lifelong protective shield that even the President and CJI do not have,” he said.Questioning the results of the 2024 Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, Kharge alleged that the INDIA bloc’s strong performance in the Lok Sabha elections was followed by a reversal in the state polls due to electoral irregularities.“In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we had an excellent performance in Maharashtra and Haryana, but the results flipped in the assembly elections. Reason—votes were illegally added before the elections and then all names were removed. This work is being done together by Modi-Shah and Gyanesh,” he alleged.
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Earlier in the day, Lok Sabha leader of the opposition Rahul Gandhi called on people to join a march in the national capital on Sunday ahead of the INDIA bloc’s rally at Ramlila Maidan on November 1.In a post on X, Rahul announced the route and timing of the walk, saying, “See you tomorrow, let’s walk together.”According to his post, the march will begin at noon from the Minto Road junction near Connaught Place, proceed towards Ajmeri Gate and conclude at Ramlila Maidan.However, Delhi Police sources said no permission had been sought for a march starting from Connaught Place.
