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The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging autocratic decision-making within the Election Commission of India (ECI).
In a press note issued after its meeting on September 28, the CWC also demanded the immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), citing “serious concerns regarding the integrity and transparency of the electoral rolls being prepared through the SIR”. It also called for the immediate restoration of 13 crore 30 lakh names that it said had been removed from the electoral rolls.
The CWC said the meeting was held against the backdrop of “the grave danger to our democracy posed by recent reports of the RSS-BJP's capture of the entire electoral process, abetted by the ECI under the current CEC”.
The allegations of autocratic decision-making within the ECI followed an investigation published by The Indian Express. The report said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally recorded objections on 14 occasions over 10 months regarding decisions and processes within the poll panel, including those related to electoral rolls and the SIR.
The CWC press note said these revelations vindicated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s sustained warnings about the “systematic subversion” of India’s electoral process through what he has called “Vote Chori”.
“He has consistently drawn the nation's attention to the selective enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct, concerns over the integrity of EVMs, arbitrary additions to and deletions from electoral rolls, the changed process for appointing the CEC, and the grant of lifelong immunity to the CEC,” the press note said.
The CWC also alleged that “Vote Chori” had been organised by the CEC on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
“Nothing short of their resignation will ensure the safety of our Constitution and hard-earned democracy. The BJP and its handpicked officials must understand that this brazen theft of the people's franchise will not go unanswered. The Congress party will resist it in Parliament, in the courts and on the streets, until the guilty are punished, every citizen's vote is secure, and the ECI is restored as an independent constitutional authority,” the press note said.
