INDIA bloc impeachment event: Kharge lists 6 charges against CEC, makes 3 demands

Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of enabling electoral fraud and presented six charges against him during a symbolic public impeachment organized by the opposition INDIA bloc in New Delhi. Kharge alleged that Kumar facilitated vote theft, deleted 13.3 crore voters, rewrote electoral roll forms without parliamentary approval, seized electoral rolls through ECINET, breached his constitutional mandate by sidelining other election commissioners, and acted on the directives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah.

Kharge chaired the event at his residence on Rajaji Marg and was joined by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. The opposition's three demands included the removal of the CEC, an end to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, and changes to the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.

Kharge also criticized the Modi government for using various means to retain power since 2014, including defections, party splitting, misuse of central agencies, and alleged electoral irregularities. He alleged that the government had repeatedly attempted to cling to power through vote theft, MP theft, party breaking, electoral bond misuse, and the employment of the Enforcement Directorate and CBI.

Furthermore, Kharge questioned the results of the 2024 Maharashtra and Haryana assembly elections, attributing the reversal from the Lok Sabha polls to electoral irregularities. He claimed that the INDIA bloc had performed exceptionally well in the national elections but saw a reversal in the state polls due to the removal of illegally added votes followed by their deletion.