Page 2 - Chief Election Commissioner

CEC executing 'G2's illegal orders' makes him liability for country: Cong

The Congress on Monday said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar must quit right away and claimed that his ability to "execute G2's illegal orders" has now made him a "liability for the country". Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh's attack on the CEC came a day after Supreme Court judge Justice Ujjal Bhuyan remarked that any process that "disenfranchises" millions of Indian citizens is "intrinsically arbitrary" and a "negation" of the constitutional order. "No amount of whataboutery can justify it," Bhuyan added. Sharing a post carrying the video clip of Bhuyan's remarks, Ramesh said on X, "Here is the bold Justice Ujjal Bhuyan speaking yesterday in NALSAR University in Hyderabad, where he exposed the CEC lock, stock and barrel. If he has any sense of shame, Gyanesh Kumar must quit right away." "His (Kumar's) ability to execute G2's illegal orders have now made him a liability for the country," Ramesh said. Ramesh often uses the term 'G2' to tak

SIR protests gather steam ahead of SC hearing; Opposition widens agitation

Protests against the CEC are likely to continue in the coming week as they did on Sunday for the third consecutive day

CJP's Dipke announces Delhi protest on Oct 10 if CEC Gyanesh Kumar stays

After leading a massive demonstration at Shivaji Park in Mumbai which drew thousands of people, Cockroach Janta Party leader Abhijeet Dipke on Friday night announced a fresh protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar did not resign. "If Gyanesh Kumar doesn't resign, cockroaches from across India will march to Delhi & protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10," he said in a post on X, adding that it will be a peaceful agitation and every citizen who wants free and fair elections must join it. Earlier, speaking at the protest at Shivaji Park, a ground associated with landmark political rallies, Dipke warned of "Jantar Mantar 2.0" if Kumar did not step down. Defying afternoon heat and barricades, young men and women turned up for the protest in central Mumbai in huge numbers even though police had denied permission for the event. "Gyanesh Kumar must resign and face criminal proceedings," demanded CJP leader Ajinkya Shinde. He also demanded freezing of .

Delhi Police detain nearly 1,000 during protest demanding CEC's removal

Delhi Police detained nearly 1,000 people, including political leaders and activists of various student and civil society organisations, during a protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar near Jantar Mantar on Friday. Many of the protesters, who gathered to demand Kumar's resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and mass deletion of voters, were later released. No permission was granted for the protest. Prohibitory orders were imposed in the New Delhi district. Around 5,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel were deployed across the Lutyens' zone and surrounding areas. More than 10 companies of paramilitary forces were brought in as part of the security arrangements. In New Delhi, police detained several people from areas around Kerala House and Ashoka Road roundabout and took them to different police stations across the city. Among those detained were AAP leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi, Sanjay Singh, Kulde

11 Metro stations shut, security tightened ahead of Jantar Mantar protest

The Delhi Police has denied permission for the proposed demonstration and made additional security arrangements in view of the expected turnout

Protest demanding CEC Kumar's resignation at Jantar Mantar today: Details

Delhi Police has denied permission for the October 2 protest, with prohibitory orders in New Delhi and 11 Metro stations shut as groups demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation

ECINET, ERONET explained: How Election Commission's voter roll systems work

ECINET and ERONET help the Election Commission manage electoral rolls. Here's how the systems work, the role of EROs and why their functioning has come under scrutiny

SIR draft roll exclusions bring electorate to 2015 level, shows data

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a plea challenging Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's role in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise

Everyone involved in 'vote chori' will be held accountable: Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi also alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi uses Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to "steal elections".

EC withdraws SIR declaration from Form 6: Here's what it means

The ECI has removed the SIR declaration from Form 6 in states and Union Territories where the electoral roll revision exercise has been completed; the declaration remains in use where SIR is ongoing

Can the CEC face prosecution? What the law says on accountability, immunity

SIR petition in SC raises questions over EC decision-making, criminal liability under electoral law and statutory protection for commissioners

SC to hear next week plea questioning ECI decisions under CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The hearing comes amid questions over the poll panel's decision-making process, after reports claimed that two Election Commissioners objected to several SIR-related orders

CJP will not back down till CEC Gyanesh Kumar resigns, says Ranka

CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka on Monday asserted that the outfit would not back down from its demand for the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over the alleged exclusion of 13 crore names from electoral rolls and challenged him to clear the allegations against him before the press and the public. Ranka claimed that the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) had "defrauded" 13 crore people by removing their names from electoral rolls and questioned why the BJP was "defending" Kumar over the allegations. "For 48 hours, the ball was in Kumar's court; now it is in CJP's court. We will start our nationwide protest on October 2, and we won't back down till he resigns. CJP is a platform which, if it gets involved in any matter, doesn't let go of it until we win," Ranka told reporters here. On September 24, the CJP demanded Kumar's resignation for allegedly "undermining" voter rights and warned of a nationwide agitation, including "Jantar Mantar 2.0", if he did not step down within 48 ...

Form 6 row: What changed, what SC said and what remains disputed

The Form 6 row centres on changes made by the ECI to the voter enrolment process during SIR. Here is what the Supreme Court said, what ECI changed and why the new declaration is being questioned

Wangchuk backs CJP's Oct 2 protest against CEC, may not attend physically

Activist Sonam Wangchuk on Sunday backed the Cockroach Janta Party's proposed October 2 protest seeking accountability from Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, saying efforts to improve accountability in the country and the electoral process deserved support. While he expressed his support for CJP's proposed agitation, Wangchuk added that he might not be physically present during the protest. His comments came amid a row over the functioning of the Election Commission following an Indian Express report's revelation that Election Commissioners S S Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions concerning voter registration, deletions and restoration of names and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all decisions relating to SIR received the unanimous approval of all three commissioners. It also announced measures to assist voters facing notices during the revision

Three NDA allies seek election panel's clarification amid SIR row

BJP allies seek clarity from the Election Commission over objections raised by two poll commissioners on voter-list revision, as a Supreme Court plea seeks action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Plea in SC challenges CEC calls taken without concurrence of panel members

A plea has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging decisions, guidelines and software changes allegedly made by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar without the concurrence of the two Election Commissioners, saying such actions violate the statutory requirement of collective decision-making. The plea filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi sought a direction declaring such decisions unconstitutional, beyond the powers of the CEC and void if they were taken without the full Election Commission's concurrence or contrary to the majority view of the poll panel. Besides challenging the decisions allegedly taken without the required concurrence, the petitioner has sought initiation of criminal proceedings against the CEC and other officials under provisions relating to breach of official duty. "Divested of any statutory or constitutional immunity, the Chief Election Commissioner remains directly accountable under the law -- subject to police ...

SC plea seeks criminal prosecution of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over SIR decisions

A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking criminal prosecution of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged violations of statutory duties in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The plea filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi through advocate Chand Qureshi seeks that decisions, guidelines and software modifications allegedly undertaken by Kumar without the concurrence of the two election commissioners be declared unconstitutional and void. It also seeks a declaration that all such decisions relating to the SIR are illegal and restoration of the original Form 6. It further seeks an inquiry by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged deletion of around 13 crore voters from electoral rolls during the revision exercise. The petitioner has sought criminal prosecution of Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner Maneesh Garg and Seema Khanna, IT head of the Election Commission (EC), alleging violation of their statut

ECI postpones CEC Gyanesh Kumar's two UP events, cites no link to row

The Election Commission has deferred two voter-awareness programmes in Uttar Pradesh, while maintaining that the decision was unrelated to the controversy surrounding the poll pane

Dipke urges opposition parties to stop participating in 'rigged' elections

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Friday urged opposition parties to stop participating in elections if they believe the electoral process is being rigged, saying their continued participation only legitimises such polls and creates an "illusion" that they are free and fair. In a post on X, Dipke said opposition parties could not simultaneously claim that elections were being rigged and continue to contest them. "Yes, elections are being rigged. But when you continue to participate in rigged elections, you legitimise these elections and help maintain the illusion that they are free and fair," he said. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder questioned whether opposition parties continued to participate because they feared that staying away from elections would lead to their political extinction. "Maybe you keep contesting because you fear that if you don't, you will stop existing. But what kind of existence are you trying to protect when votes are being stolen, your MLAs and MPs are be