Seeking removal of CEC, Kerala Assembly to move resolution today

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala has announced plans to introduce a resolution in the state Assembly on Monday, seeking the removal of Gyanesh Kumar from his position as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). This will mark a first for the country, with the Keralam Assembly becoming the inaugural to propose the dismissal of the CEC. Chief Minister V D Satheesan will be the one to move the resolution in the Legislative Assembly.

In September of the previous year, the state Assembly had passed a similar resolution, this time under the governance of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) led by then Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The resolution was moved against the implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. The upcoming second session of the 16th Legislative Assembly will commence on Monday.

The resolution to be presented in the Assembly comprises three key demands. The first is the removal of Gyanesh Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner. The second demand is the reinstatement of voting rights for all eligible voters who have been removed from the electoral rolls following the rectification of anomalies in the SIR process.

Lastly, the resolution calls for the reconstitution of the committee responsible for selecting Election Commissioners, with the addition of the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to the committee.

Within the 140-member Assembly, the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Congress, holds a majority with 102 members. The CPI(M) – led LDF follows with 35 legislators, while the BJP has three representatives. With both the Congress and CPI(M) actively participating in the national campaign and ongoing protests for the CEC's removal, it is expected that the resolution will gain considerable support in the Assembly.

The resolution highlights the growing doubts regarding the Commission's impartiality and emphasizes the necessity to take steps to restore the Commission's credibility. "Robbing off the voting rights of minorities, migrants, marginalized sections, and the young through technical manipulation and irregularities is a violation of democratic principles," the resolution states.

Although the resolution acknowledges that lakhs of eligible voters have been removed under the SIR process, it refrains from making any specific reference to Kerala, where the last Assembly elections took place after the SIR was implemented. Neither the Congress nor the CPI(M) had previously raised any allegations about the removal of eligible voters from the electoral rolls in the state during the SIR process.