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Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Wednesday attacked Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and demanded his immediate removal, reacting to an Indian Express report which said that two Election Commissioners had raised objections on several occasions over decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and changes in electoral roll procedures.
Venugopal, in a post on X, said, "There is no doubt remaining. Mr. Gyanesh Kumar has no right to remain in office. How the hell can one man, acting on His Masters orders, strike off names at whim? How can he sideline fellow Constitutional officers to only take blatantly illegal steps that put our democracy in danger?" "The right to vote is an essential Constitutional power given to every citizen, the fundamental bedrock of our democracy. If it is to be taken away, due process must be followed with utmost probity," he added. The Congress leader alleged that "crores of genuine voters" were being excluded and "a similar number of bogus voters" were being added to electoral rolls, claiming that Gyanesh Kumar was the "Chief Architect" of what he called a nationwide "Vote Chori exercise, with the the Modi top brass pulling the strings". Calling for his resignation and Supreme Court monitored probe, Venugopal added, "We demand Gyanesh Kumars immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored impartial investigation to expose the rot that has destroyed the ECIs credibility. If Gyanesh Kumar remains in office, the people of India will come forward and make sure that our democracy is not destroyed by a mere bureaucrat." https://x.com/kcvenugopalmp/status/2102628814719504415 RJD MP Manoj Jha also reacted to the Indian Express report and alleged that it raised questions over the functioning of the poll body. "This story peels back the layers to reveal how a constitutional body, whose mandate is to conduct free and fair elections, conflates discretion with arbitrary caprice. Over a period of ten months, written dissent was expressed fourteen times; clarifications were sought, and attempts were made to sound warnings, yet Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar brushed it all aside," Jha said. He added, "If, following this report, this individual remains in office, I can say with certainty that whatever 10% trust the public still has in the system will vanish... He should resign immediately; there is no other option." The Indian Express report had claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process. Meanwhile, the Election Commission sources, however, sought to play down the Indian Express report, stating that all decisions of the Election Commission of India, including those related to SIR, were taken unanimously with the approval of both Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner. Earlier, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also targeted the CEC over the report and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance. "This is an extremely serious news that in the past 10 months, 2 Election Commissioners have registered their objections 14 times against the Election Commission's wrong decisions. This directly means that all Election Commissioners are not able to perform their rightful duties," Yadav said in a post on X. "If the members of an independent body do not have the freedom to carry out just actions or if there is no hearing of theirs, then these are extremely fatal and dangerous circumstances for democracy," he added. Trinamool Congress leader Derek OBrien said that a previous motion submitted by Rajya Sabha MPs seeking the removal of the CEC should be brought forward again. "Five months ago, 60+ Rajya Sabha MPs (50 needed) wrote to Chairman RS moving Motion to remove CEC Gyanesh Kumar. After big news break today that two Election Commissioners objected to many of CEC's actions, it's time to bring out the RS Motion today. Impeach CEC to save democracy," OBrien posted on X. Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal also alleged that the CEC did not have the support of the majority among the Election Commission members, referring to the Indian Express report. "It seems some people in this country still have a conscience... look at the kind of irregularities taking place in the Election Commission," Sibal said. He alleged that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections to decisions taken during the SIR process. "There used to be a single member; now, there are three. It has been established that the majority was not with Gyanesh Kumar. He used to act arbitrarily; Mr Joshi and Mr Sandhu questioned his working methods on 14 occasions," Sibal claimed. He further alleged that changes were made in Form 6, used for voter registration, without a formal amendment. "The ECI wants me to lie; they added this question to Form 6 without any formal amendment. While the government could have done this, Gyanesh Kumar did it on his own initiative," he said. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut also demanded action against the CEC. "Gyanesh Kumar should be suspended, and legal action should be taken against him. In this country, elections have become a farce. ECI comes under the Home Ministry. The number one criminal is Amit Shah," Raut said. "If the PM wants to save the nation, he should remove Amit Shah from the Cabinet. If Modi ji doesn't take action, then I will urge the President... to remove Gyanesh Kumar," he added. DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan alleged that the BJP government was "playing a game" with the SIR process and claimed that the exercise was aimed at removing certain sections from electoral rolls. "The BJP government is playing a game with this SIR. So, they want to remove the Muslims from this country. That is their motive," Elangovan said. AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj also called for Opposition unity over the issue, saying, "All Opposition parties should join hands and fix this CEC first. Everything else is secondary." CPI(M) MP John Brittas alleged that the Election Commission had become a "one-man autocracy" under the CEC and referred to the objections mentioned in the report. "This is no longer an Election Commission. It is a one-man autocracy under CEC Gyanesh Kumar!! Two Election Commissioners have formally objected 14 times in 10 months," Brittas posted on X. Earlier in April, Opposition parties had moved motions seeking the removal of Gyanesh Kumar. In April 2026, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had said that 73 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs submitted a fresh notice seeking the removal of the CEC on grounds of "proven misbehaviour". Ramesh had said the notice was moved under Article 324(5) read with Article 124(4) of the Constitution, along with provisions of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. Earlier, a similar notice was submitted in the Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla later rejected the motion after consideration, according to a Lok Sabha bulletin. The Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan also rejected the motion. (ANI)
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