New Delhi, Oct 31 — Opposition leaders, social activists, students and civil society members on Saturday unanimously passed 'symbolic public impeachment' resolution, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and criminal proceedings against him over alleged electoral irregularities and vote theft.
The programme was organised at the official residence of Congress President and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, at 10 Rajaji Marg.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over the proceedings.
The event was attended by Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and K.C. Venugopal, along with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Samajwadi Party leader Dharmendra Yadav, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and more than 250 Opposition MPs and other participants.
Presenting the resolution, Kharge accused the Election Commission of manipulating electoral rolls and election results in favour of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He alleged that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise had resulted in the deletion of 13.2 crore voters' names and accused the commission of centralising control over electoral rolls and excluding other Election Commissioners from important decision-making processes.
Kharge claimed that citizens' constitutional right to vote was under serious threat, alleging that Gyanesh Kumar was functioning under the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
He also demanded an immediate halt to the SIR exercise.
Rahul Gandhi, addressing the gathering, alleged that deleting 13.2 crore names amounted to removing nearly 15 per cent of the electorate.
He said that this raised serious questions about the legitimacy of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which the difference between the Opposition and the ruling parties was around three percentage points.
Rahul Gandhi also demanded that Gyanesh Kumar face criminal proceedings, including a sedition case, alleging that the Opposition possessed sufficient evidence of electoral wrongdoing.
The resolution also called for repealing the 2023 law granting legal protection to the Chief Election Commissioner.
Opposition leaders said they would continue their campaign through Parliament and public mobilisation.