Election Commission responds to Express Investigation

Opposition parties have called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to be removed from office, following a report by Indian Express alleging major irregularities within the Election Commission of India (ECI). The expose claims that two of the three Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, raised objections at least 14 times over ten months, asserting that key decisions were being made without their knowledge.

The parties argue that several of these decisions were "unauthorized and illegal." The ECI denies these allegations, stating that all decisions are unanimous and approved by both the Election Commissioners and the Chief Election Commissioner. The report highlights concerns over the centralization of electoral rolls, access to the digital voter database, and alleged unauthorized changes to voter registration forms.

Opposition leaders, including Congress MP Manish Tewari, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, and CPI(M) leader John Brittas, have urged the Parliament to initiate impeachment proceedings against CEC Kumar and the Supreme Court to annul the recently conducted electoral roll process.