Opposition Demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar Removal Over Voter Roll Dispute

Opposition parties demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Wednesday following a report that two fellow commissioners raised repeated objections to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi formally objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions taken without their knowledge, including voter deletions across multiple states.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the Election Commission and the BJP-RSS of "vote chori" (vote theft) and treason, warning officials that "time will come" and they will be held accountable. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said colleague Abhishek Singhvi would address the media on how the CEC destroyed the commission's credibility.

“"Vote chori is a crime against the Indian people and a direct attack on our Constitution. The BJP, RSS and EC who organised it have committed an act of treason."”

KC Venugopal, Congress general secretary for organisation, stated Kumar has no right to remain in office, questioning how one man acting on "His Master's orders" can strike off names at whim while sidelining constitutional officers. The three-member commission had supervised the national SIR rollout unanimously, though Sandhu and Joshi objected four times in a single day.

The Indian Express report revealed the internal dissent within the poll panel, triggering the political storm. Officials maintained the commission was unanimous in its final SIR decisions despite the recorded objections.