New Delhi: INDIA bloc will hold a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar Friday, with former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar chairing the proceedings, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge moving the “motion” and former party chief Rahul Gandhi making the concluding remarks.
INDIA bloc leaders had met Thursday to give the final shape to the “public impeachment” proceedings, which will be held from 3:30 PM onwards at Kharge’s residence as a symbolic protest over the “vote chori” issue.
Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, senior Congress leader Meira Kumar, TMC’s Derek O’Brien, Samajwadi Party’s Harendra Malik, JMM’s Mahua Maji and CPI(M)’s John Brittas, among others, participated in the preparatory meeting Thursday.
Sources said Meira Kumar will chair the INDIA bloc’s “public impeachment” of Gyanesh Kumar. While Kharge will move the ‘motion’ to impeach Gyanesh Kumar, Gandhi will make the concluding remarks before the ‘motion’ is passed.
Invites have also been sent to INDIA bloc MPs for “The Public Impeachment of Gyanesh Kumar” at 10, Rajaji Marg, from 3:30 pm onwards.
Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, one person from each party is likely to speak at the “public impeachment” of the CEC.
“The CEC has demonstrably violated the letter and spirit of the Constitution. He has systematically subverted the very foundations of our electoral democracy. He has, to put it bluntly, lied to the Supreme Court,” Ramesh had said earlier this week.
“He has been the willing executioner on behalf of the Diabolical Duo whose turn will come next,” he said, in an apparent attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The Congress Tuesday claimed it was denied permission to hold the “public impeachment” of the CEC and accused the government of trying to silence the voice of common people after “destroying” the electoral system.
The Congress and other Opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.