{
  "id": 14385770,
  "title": "Ashok Lavasa: Ex-EC urges poll panel to regain public trust amid calls for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/ashok-lavasa-ex-ec-urges-poll-panel-to-regain-public-trust-amid-calls",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T05:59:17.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Live Mint",
    "slug": "live-mint",
    "url": "https://www.livemint.com/news/india/-ashok-lavasa-ex-ec-urges-poll-panel-to-regain-public-trust-amid-calls-for-gyanesh-kumar-s-resig-11791954291849.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa has warned that the Election Commission (EC) is facing unprecedented controversies, urging the commission to regain public trust. Lavasa likened the situation to a cricket match, stating that if people doubt the impartiality of the umpire, the winning team's victory would also be questioned. The calls for resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar have increased following opposition protests against alleged 'vote chori' and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The protests followed an Indian Express report revealing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections to decisions they claimed were made without their knowledge. Lavasa emphasized the importance of having an impartial umpire in an electoral democracy, arguing that a lack of trust in the EC could jeopardize democracy. The EC responded, asserting that differing views are normal in any institution and all its orders follow established procedures. Lavasa, a retired IAS officer, served as an EC member from 2018 to 2020, including during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, where he dissented over decisions related to political leaders.",
  "summary": "Lavasa was in the news in 2019 for recording a dissent during the Lok Sabha elections over the Election Commission’s decisions on alleged Model Code of Conduct violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}