Over 200 MPs sign notice seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
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New Delhi: More than 200 Members of Parliament have signed notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said.
According to a source, 130 MPs from the Lok Sabha and 63 MPs from the Rajya Sabha have signed the notices. The notice is expected to be submitted in at least one House of Parliament on Friday, although it is not yet clear whether it will be introduced in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha.
An Opposition leader said MPs showed strong enthusiasm in signing the notice, with several lawmakers coming forward to add their signatures even after the required numbers had already been reached.
Under parliamentary rules, a minimum of 100 MPs must sign a notice seeking the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner in the Lok Sabha, while at least 50 signatures are required in the Rajya Sabha.
The notice has been signed by members from all parties of the INDIA bloc, sources said. MPs from the Aam Aadmi Party, which is no longer officially part of the alliance, have also signed the notice, another source added.
This is the first time that a notice has been submitted seeking the removal of a Chief Election Commissioner.
According to a highly placed source, the notice lists seven charges against the CEC, including allegations of “partisan and discriminatory conduct in office”, “deliberate obstruction of investigation of electoral fraud”, and “mass disenfranchisement”.
Opposition parties have repeatedly accused the CEC of favouring the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, particularly over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which they claim is intended to benefit the party at the Centre.
Concerns have been raised specifically over the conduct of the revision exercise in West Bengal, where Mamata Banerjee, Chief Minister and leader of the Trinamool Congress, has accused the Election Commission of removing genuine voters from the rolls.
The process for removing the Chief Election Commissioner is similar to that for the removal of a judge of the Supreme Court of India or a high court, meaning impeachment can take place only on the grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.
A motion for removal can be introduced in either House of Parliament and must be passed by a special majority — a majority of the total membership of the House and a two-thirds majority of the members present and voting.
Under the law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners, the CEC “shall not be removed from office except in the like manner and on the like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court”. Other election commissioners cannot be removed from office “except on the recommendation of the CEC”.
According to the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, if notices for such a motion are submitted on the same day in both Houses of Parliament, a committee will not be constituted unless the motion is admitted in both Houses.
Once the motion is admitted in both Houses, a committee will be jointly constituted by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to examine the charges.
With PTI inputs