‘Public impeachment’ of CEC: INDIA bloc slaps ‘six charges’, Kharge slams Modi government

The Opposition INDIA bloc staged a symbolic "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday, accusing him of electoral irregularities and alleged conspiring with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. During the proceedings led by former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge lodged six charges against Kumar, alleging he "deleted 13.2 crore voters," "rewrote Form 6," "seized electoral rolls through ECINET," and "shut out other Election Commissioners."

Attendees included party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Dharmendra Yadav, Saugata Roy, Tejashwi Yadav, John Brittas, P Sandosh Kumar, and civil society members. While both Houses of Parliament had rejected Opposition motions to impeach Kumar, the Congress leader insisted their purpose was to safeguard constitutional norms and protect voting rights.

Kharge accused the Modi government of "vote chori" and criticized the recent law providing perpetual immunity to Election Commissioners, claiming it allowed Kumar to bypass accountability.