Kharge Calls CEC Gyanesh Kumar ‘Puppet’, Demands His Removal Over Electoral Roll Row During CWC Meeting

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday called Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar a “puppet” of the Narendra Modi government and demanded his immediate removal amid a row over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

Kharge Lists Five Demands

Addressing the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Kharge demanded greater transparency in changes to voter lists and called for data on major deletions and additions to be made public. He also sought that voters whose names are deleted be informed and given an opportunity to appeal. Political parties, he said, should receive timely access to electoral-roll data in a simple format.

Kharge further called for independent, time-bound investigations into alleged discrepancies and greater transparency in election-related data and decisions.

“People's names are being removed from voter lists through conspiracy, and the CEC has become a puppet of the Modi government,” Kharge said, alleging that the process undermined the rights of eligible voters.

Kharge Demands CEC’s Removal

Kharge said Kumar had “no right to remain in office” and should be removed immediately.

“Under these circumstances, he has no right to remain in office and should be removed immediately,” Kharge said, while also demanding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation on moral grounds over what he described as pressure on the CEC.

Kharge said the Congress' demands were aimed at protecting voters' rights and maintaining public confidence in the electoral process.

He alleged that the poor, Dalits and other disadvantaged sections bore the brunt of the government's policies, describing the vote as their most powerful political instrument.

Congress Raises SIR Concerns

The Congress chief described the SIR controversy as a wider democratic issue rather than simply an electoral battle.

“Elections come and go, and governments change, but democracy and the Constitution are enduring,” Kharge said, adding that the ordinary voter, rather than the prime minister, chief minister or any other leader in power, was the most important person in a democracy.

Kharge also referred to an Indian Express investigation that reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on 14 occasions over decisions and processes linked to the SIR and electoral-roll management in the past 10 months.

“Two Election Commissioners themselves have described the CEC's actions as arbitrary and improper,” he said.

The reported objections covered issues including changes to Form 6 for new voter registration, deletion and restoration of names, appeals against orders restoring voters and the centralisation of electoral-roll data.

EC Says Differences Are Part of Deliberations

The Election Commission has rejected the report's presentation of the internal differences, saying it showed “only one part of the picture”.

The poll panel said differences of opinion were part of normal deliberations and subsequently maintained that decisions relating to the SIR had been taken unanimously.

At the CWC meeting, Kharge said the Congress' campaign was not directed at weakening the Election Commission but at ensuring that the institution remained credible to both the BJP and the Opposition.

“Our fight is not against any party, organisation, or individual, but to protect the rights of Indian voters, the Constitution, and India's democratic system,” he said.

Kharge Backs Rahul Gandhi’s Electoral Roll Claims

Kharge also backed Rahul Gandhi's earlier allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls, saying Gandhi had raised questions based on voter data from Mahadevapura in Bengaluru, Aland in Karnataka, Haryana and Maharashtra.

“Most importantly, Indian voters should be confident that their vote is secure,” Kharge said.

The CWC meeting was attended by former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Sachin Pilot and Mukul Wasnik, besides senior leaders including P Chidambaram.

Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states, including Karnataka's DK Shivakumar, Kerala's VD Satheesan, Telangana's Revanth Reddy and Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, also participated in the meeting.