Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday levelled six charges against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar during a symbolic public impeachment programme organised by the INDIA bloc, accusing him of undermining democracy and acting at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Moving the symbolic impeachment motion at his residence at 10, Rajaji Marg, in New Delhi, Kharge said the right to vote, which he described as the most fundamental element of democracy, was under serious threat.
"The right to vote is the most fundamental thing in a democracy. And it is under serious threat today. This is a fight to save democracy. The Chief Election Commissioner is acting on the direct instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah," Kharge said.
He alleged that the ruling establishment had resorted to several conspiracies to retain power, accusing it of engineering defections, breaking political parties, toppling elected governments and using central investigative agencies to target political opponents.
"To retain its hold on power, the ruling establishment has resorted to every possible conspiracy. There's been theft of MPs, breaking of political parties, toppling and stealing of governments, the electoral bond scheme, and the use of agencies like the ED and CBI. And now, there is vote theft," he said.
The programme, attended by Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and several Opposition leaders, was organised as part of the INDIA bloc's ongoing protest against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over the proceedings, which were modelled on a parliamentary impeachment process. She declared the mock session open, saying the Opposition had initiated the exercise because voters' names were allegedly being removed improperly and questions about the process were not receiving transparent responses.
She said people whose names had been deleted from electoral rolls would get an opportunity to present their accounts, along with INDIA bloc MPs from both Houses of Parliament, civil society representatives and other citizens.
Meira Kumar also expressed concern over the allegations, saying countries across Asia, Africa and South America looked up to India and followed its democratic model.
The proceedings were organised a day after the INDIA bloc postponed the programme because of rain in Delhi. The seating arrangement on the lawn at Kharge's residence and Meira Kumar's seat on a stage with a backdrop were designed to resemble the Central Hall of the old Parliament building, where members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha once assembled together. The event was livestreamed on X through Rahul Gandhi's and other party handles.
Six charges against the Chief Election Commissioner
Kharge's allegations against Kumar centred on the conduct of the Election Commission, the SIR exercise and the alleged manipulation of electoral processes. The charges included allegations of conspiring to steal elections, overseeing the deletion of voters' names, changing Form 6 without parliamentary oversight, taking control of electoral rolls through ECINet, sidelining the other two Election Commissioners and acting at the behest of the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
The Opposition has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of conducting the SIR exercise without adequate transparency and of facilitating the removal of eligible voters from electoral rolls. It has demanded Kumar's resignation, alleging that the poll body has failed to function independently.
Separately, The Indian Express reported last month that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times to decisions they alleged were taken without their knowledge. These reportedly included decisions concerning the SIR exercise, adding to the scrutiny surrounding Kumar's functioning.
BJP mocks Rahul Gandhi over mock Parliament
The BJP hit back at the Congress-led Opposition over the symbolic exercise, accusing Rahul Gandhi of creating an imaginary Parliament because he was unable to win elections.
BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said, "After being successively unsuccessful in creating anarchy in India, the Congress party, just in order to give solace to the sentiment of their maverick prince, Rahul Gandhi, is now creating a hallucination that he is there in the Parliament of his own choice by creating a mock parliament."
The BJP had also earlier taken a swipe at Gandhi, saying he was now sitting in a Parliament of his own choice because he was unable to win elections in reality.
Amit Shah challenges Opposition to debate SIR in Parliament
The public impeachment programme came a day after Union Home Minister Amit Shah challenged Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav to debate the electoral rolls issue in a special session of Parliament.
Speaking at a Uttar Pradesh BJP meeting in Lucknow on Friday, Shah said the BJP was prepared to discuss the matter and had nothing to hide.
"The Bharatiya Janata Party is fully prepared to discuss this in Parliament. We have nothing to hide. Let us convene a special session of Parliament," he said.
Shah accused the Opposition of refusing to participate in parliamentary discussions and disrupting proceedings instead. Taking a direct swipe at Gandhi, he said the Congress leader would never discuss the issue in Parliament but would create a nuisance on the streets.
The Congress had initially planned to organise a mock Parliament before renaming the event a public impeachment programme. The Opposition has previously submitted notices seeking Kumar's removal through the constitutional process, but they were rejected. The INDIA bloc does not have the numbers required to secure his removal through an actual impeachment process.
INDIA bloc prepares for November 1 rally
The symbolic proceedings were held ahead of the INDIA bloc's November 1 rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan, where Opposition parties are expected to intensify their campaign against the Election Commission and demand Kumar's resignation.
The mobilisation, being held under the 'Chalo Dilli' banner, is part of a series of protests against the SIR exercise and alleged vote theft.
The campaign has also received support from groups outside the INDIA bloc, including the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a meme page-turned-pressure group. However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has clarified that it is not formally part of the INDIA bloc.
The Opposition has maintained that the SIR exercise has led to the improper deletion of voters' names and has accused the Election Commission of failing to provide satisfactory explanations. The allegations against Kumar and the poll body remain claims made by the Opposition.