Om Birla addressed a press conference on Thursday, stating that any fresh notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar would be scrutinised in line with parliamentary rules and procedures. He underscored that every MP has the right to raise issues in Parliament, but that placards and slogans have no place in democratic debate.
The first attempt to move a motion against Kumar was rejected by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, after which the opposition filed a second motion that is still under consideration in the upper house. No vote has yet been taken on the second notice.
Under Article 124 of the Constitution and the 2023 Act on the Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office of the Chief Election Commissioner, a CEC can only be removed by Parliament through a process identical to that for a Supreme Court judge: a majority of the total membership of each House and a two‑thirds majority of those present and voting must endorse an address to the President.
The opposition’s campaign intensified following an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least fourteen times over the past ten months to decisions on the Special Intensive Revision orders issued without their knowledge. Youth protests and placards have punctuated the parliamentary debate, prompting Birla to reiterate that free speech must remain within democratic norms.