The Opposition in the Rajya Sabha on Friday submitted a fresh notice for the removal of chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, citing new instances of “proven misbehaviour and misconduct” that have emerged since the submission of their previous notice for similar action, which the presiding officers of both Houses subsequently rejected.
In all, 73 Opposition members of the Rajya Sabha signed the notice before it was submitted to the secretary-general. Under Section 3(1)(b) of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, a motion for the removal of a Supreme Court judge, if initiated in the Rajya Sabha, should be signed by at least 50 members for it to be considered. The provision of this Act is applicable for the removal of the CEC, according to Article 324 (5) of the Constitution.
In the notice, the Opposition has brought nine charges against the CEC, beginning with the absence of any action from the EC against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s televised address to the nation when the model code of conduct is in place. The notice contrasts this to the alacrity with which a showcause notice was issued by the EC on a complaint from the BJP against Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
Another charge brought against the CEC is the “partisan and public denunciation” of the Trinamool on the ECI’s official social media handle. Kumar has also been accused of mass disenfranchisement in Bengal through the SIR, inaction on “documented complaints of official partisanship” and “abusing power to direct transfers and postings of bureaucrats in Tamil Nadu”.