Congress demands election chief’s resignation after judge’s disenfranchisement remarks
The Congress has demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of implementing what it called unlawful orders. The party cited Supreme Court judge Ujjal Bhuyan’s warning that any process disenfranchising millions would be arbitrary and contrary to India’s constitutional order.
India’s Congress party has demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of carrying out what it described as unlawful orders connected with the Special Intensive Revision process. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh made the demand on Monday, October 5, after Supreme Court judge Ujjal Bhuyan criticised processes that could deprive millions of citizens of voting rights. Ramesh said Kumar’s alleged ability to execute such orders had made him a liability for the country.
Ramesh shared a video of remarks made by Justice Bhuyan at NALSAR University of Law in Hyderabad. The judge said that a process leading to the mass disenfranchisement of citizens would be intrinsically arbitrary and a negation of India’s constitutional order. The Congress said the remarks demonstrated that the Election Commission had violated the Constitution.
Ramesh also claimed that Kumar had lost the moral right to remain in office. Justice Bhuyan said the Constitution did not create two classes of citizens, one with voting rights and another without them. He said a process that turned citizens into people without the right to vote would violate Articles 326 and 14.
He described the right to vote as a constitutional right linked to democracy, rather than merely a statutory right arising from the Representation of the People Act, 1951. He also said Article 326 could not be altered by any authority or endorsed by any court. The Congress’s criticism follows reports that election commissioners Sandhu and Joshi had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders relating to the revision process.
The Election Commission has said differing views are part of institutional deliberations and that its orders have legal sanction and follow statutory procedures. Ramesh uses “G2” to refer to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
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