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Amid opposition demands for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over concerns surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive, Telangana Congress leader Motha Rohit on Sunday alleged that West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had openly acknowledged the CECs support for the BJP.
Reacting to Bhattacharya's recent remarks in which he praised Kumar's role in the electoral roll revision exercise and said the CEC deserved at the very least, the Padma Bhushan, Rohit alleged that the statement exposed the BJP's alleged political alignment with the poll panel. Bengal's BJP state president, Samik Bhattacharya, has openly acknowledged CEC Gyanesh Kumar's support to the BJP, and he says that the Central Government needs to give the Padma Bhushan award to Gyanesh Kumar for his work in this SIR, Rohit told ANI. He further alleged that the SIR exercise was being used to delete eligible voters and add fake voters, claims that have been rejected by the Election Commission. Now look at the hypocrisy of the BJP leaders. They are openly acknowledging what Mr Gyanesh Kumar has been doing for them: deleting eligible voters of this country, adding fake voters who are helping the BJP, Rohit alleged. The Congress leader also called for judicial intervention in the matter and urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the issue. To what extent will the BJP stoop? The Supreme Court of India should take cognisance of this issue, should take suo motu action, and immediately announce the arrest of Gyanesh Kumar, he said. Bhattacharya had earlier strongly defended Kumar amid criticism from Opposition parties, saying the CEC deserved recognition for conducting elections peacefully and undertaking measures to revise electoral rolls. He also said Kumar had taken steps to remove names of people he described as Bangladeshi infiltrators from voter lists. The people of West Bengal have rarely witnessed an election like this. Therefore, the general public of West Bengal fully supports Gyanesh Kumar, Bhattacharya had said. The controversy comes amid reports of differences within the Election Commission over aspects of the SIR process. According to an Indian Express report, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded 14 written dissents or objections over a 10-month period. The Election Commission has maintained that internal notes, queries and discussions are part of its institutional functioning and has said that final decisions relating to the SIR were taken unanimously. (ANI)
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