Mallikarjun Kharge lists six charges against Chief Election Commissioner
The Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha accused Gyanesh Kumar of facilitating vote theft during an INDIA bloc event.
NEW DELHI: Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge accused Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar of facilitating "vote theft" during a symbolic public impeachment organised by the INDIA bloc on Saturday.
The proceedings, chaired by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar at Kharge's Rajaji Marg residence, included six allegations against Kumar. Kharge alleged the CEC conspired to steal elections, deleted 13.3 crore voters, and rewrote Form 6 without parliamentary oversight.
Kharge further accused Kumar of seizing electoral rolls through ECINET, breaching his constitutional mandate by shutting out two other election commissioners, and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
The opposition leader reiterated three demands: the removal of the CEC, an end to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, and changes to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the CEC.
Kharge alleged the 2023 CEC Act provides the commissioner with a lifelong protective shield. He also claimed that electoral irregularities caused results to flip in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections compared to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier on Saturday, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi called for a march in the national capital on Sunday. Delhi Police sources stated no permission had been sought for a march starting from Connaught Place.