New Delhi: A day after the poll panel challenged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to either submit an affidavit on his allegations of irregularities in electoral rolls within seven days or issue an apology to the country, it was announced on Monday that the opposition INDIA bloc is considering an impeachment motion against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
According to reports, the issue was discussed during the alliance partners’ meeting on Monday morning prior to the day’s Parliament session.
Both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned until 2:00 PM at the time of writing this report due to opposition protests against the Election Commission’s (EC) special intense revision (SIR) of Bihar’s voter lists.
According to the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, the reasons for dismissing a chief election commissioner are identical to those for a judge of the Supreme Court.
For the motion to pass both Houses of Parliament, a two-thirds majority must be obtained. The motion must be signed by at least 50 members in order to be approved.
The proposal is unlikely to pass, even though the INDIA bloc can gather signatures.
We must register our protest regardless of whether the motion is passed or not. A Lok Sabha MP stated, “The CEC is blaming the opposition rather than responding to inquiries.”
Rahul, meantime, declared on Monday that the “one person, one vote” concept would be upheld and claimed that the “new weapon” of “vote chori” (vote stealing) was the special, intense revision of electoral rolls.
In a post on his WhatsApp channel, he made the comments while discussing his encounter with a group of voters who had participated in the previous Lok Sabha election but had had their names removed during the SIR process in Bihar.
At the beginning of his Vote Adhikar Yatra in Sasaram, Bihar, on Sunday, Rahul met the group.
“SIR is a new tool for stealing votes. “Incidentally, these individuals standing alongside me in this photo are ‘living’ evidence of this theft,” he added in a Hindi-language post.
“All of them had cast their vote in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections – but by the time Bihar Assembly elections came, their identity, their existence was erased from the democracy of India,” he stated.
“Are you aware of their identities? “Umravati Devi (35): Dalit and laborer; Dhanjay Kumar Bind (30): Backward class and laborer; Sita Devi (45): woman and former MNREGA laborer; Raj Mohan Singh (70): farmer and retired soldier; Raju Devi (55): Backward class and laborer; Mohmuddin Ansari (52): Minority and laborer,” he stated.
Gandhi claimed that even our soldiers were not exempt from the “collusion” of the BJP and the Election Commission, which is punishing them for being “Bahujan” and impoverished.
He went on to say that they would not have rights, identification, or a vote.
“They are powerless to oppose the system’s plot because of economic circumstances and social inequality.”One person, one vote is the most fundamental right, and we stand here with them to defend it,” he said.
As their Voter Adhikar Yatra began its second day, Rahul, Tejashwi Yadav of the RJD, and Mukesh Sahani of the Vikassheel Insan Party prayed at the Devkund Surya Mandir in Aurangabad, Bihar.
The Yatra is anticipated to arrive in Gaya on Monday night after departing Kutumba. On September 1, a rally in Patna will mark the end of the 16-day yatra.
Similar to Gandhi’s Manipur to Mumbai Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, which was conducted in advance of the Lok Sabha elections, the yatra is being conducted in a hybrid fashion, using both foot and vehicle transportation.
East Champaran, West Champaran, Gopalganj, Siwan, Chhapra, Ara, Katihar, Purnea, Araria, Supaul, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Gaya, Nawada, Nalanda, Sheikhpura, Lakhisarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, and Aurangabad will all be on its route.
In a press conference on Sunday, Kumar and other Election Commission officials restated the two options in front of Rahul.
“You must apologize to the country or provide an affidavit. A third alternative does not exist. The accusations are unfounded if the affidavit is not provided within seven days, Kumar had stated.
Rahul had provided statistics compiled from an Assembly sector under a Bengaluru Lok Sabha seat on August 7th to explain the manipulation of the voter list, which he claimed was being done to benefit the BJP.
