Kharge urges PM’s resignation, removal of poll chief at CWC meet

Alleging irregularities in electoral rolls and the SIR process, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has sought the immediate ouster of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, citing dissent from his fellow Election Commissioners. At the CWC meeting, Kharge also called on PM Narendra Modi to resign on moral grounds for allegedly pressuring the CEC.

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s immediate removal over alleged SIR “irregularities” and also demanded Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation on moral grounds for “pressuring” the poll panel chief.

Addressing a crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) here, he said the Congress party would take to the streets and raise in Parliament issues pertaining to alleged irregularities in the electoral rolls and poll process.

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Kharge put forth five major demands at the CWC, noting that all data on changes in electoral rolls be made public, all voters whose names have been deleted should get a chance to appeal and all political parties should be given electoral rolls in simple format in time.

He also demanded that an independent time-bound probe should also be conducted where serious anomalies are found and the poll process should be made transparent so no one feels that information is being hidden.

“The two Election Commissioners have themselves termed the CEC’s actions as ‘arbitrary and unreasonable’ and the entire nation now knows that he has been trying to help the ruling party. In such a situation, he does not have the right to be in his position and should be removed immediately,” Kharge said.

“Together with this, the prime minister should also resign on moral grounds for ‘pressuring’ the CEC,” the Congress chief said in his inaugural address at the CWC.

“We should take a pledge at the CWC meeting that there should be transparency in electoral rolls and the poll process should be impartial. Institutions should be independent and the vote of every Indian should be protected,” he said in his inaugural address.

This, he said, is the core of our Constitution and the soul of our democracy and the Congress party would not be left behind in fulfilling this responsibility and will take to the streets and raise these issues in Parliament.

He also thanked Congress workers and leaders for standing behind Rahul Gandhi, who raised the alleged irregularities and highlighted the role of the CEC in “supporting” the BJP.