On Friday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal announced a demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, citing the removal of 13.3 crore names from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
BJP leaders countered that the same SIR wiped out 2.8 crore dead voters, more than a crore duplicates and 9.43 crore absent or shifted names, and praised Kumar for cleaning the rolls.
The controversy erupted after a newspaper report claimed former commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected 14 times over ten months to SIR decisions, but the Election Commission denied any rift, stating all orders were approved unanimously.
Congress plans a massive agitation, backed by the INDIA bloc, following a Wednesday meeting in Delhi, and is preparing an impeachment notice that will be tabled in Parliament.
BJP’s top figures, including National General Secretary Smriti Irani and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale, rejected the resignation demand, arguing that Kumar’s removal would harm electoral integrity.
The next step will be the introduction of the impeachment draft, followed by a parliamentary debate that could see the CEC’s future decided by a special majority vote.