Congress Seeks Sacking of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Resignation of PM Modi Over Electoral Roll Revisions

New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, the suspension of the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, the restoration of over 13 crore names struck off and the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for "match-fixing" elections. Separately, the Left parties protested outside the Election Commission headquarters in the national capital to press for the CEC’s resignation.

During the two-and-a-half-hour Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting chaired by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the party discussed the alleged “match-fixing between the Election Commission and the Prime Minister-Union Home Minister duo”.

"This brazen 'vote chori' has been organised by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Union home minister. Nothing short of their resignation will ensure the safety of our constitution and hard-earned democracy," the CWC resolution said.

According to the CWC resolution, the BJP and its handpicked officials must understand that this "brazen theft" of the people's franchise will not go unanswered. The Congress would resist it in Parliament, in the courts and on the streets, until the guilty were punished, every citizen's vote was secure and the ECI was restored as an independent constitutional authority.

"For the Indian National Congress, the struggle to restore universal adult franchise in India is no less than the freedom struggle itself," the resolution said.

The CWC said the Congress, under the guidance of Kharge and the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, had taken the issue to various platforms, including through the Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar, the nationwide vote chori campaign, representations to the EC, the EAGLE group's engagement with the poll panel, legal challenges to the SIR, I.N.D.I.A. bloc protests in Parliament and a march to the ECI office.

“The concerns, initially raised by Mr Gandhi, have now become a wider demand for accountability, transparency and restoration of the sanctity of India's electoral system," the CWC said.

In his remarks, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the party's main demand is that CEC Kumar has no moral right to continue for a single day. "He (the CEC) will understand in the coming days what level of resistance we will build up for his resignation," he said.

"Gyanesh Kumar is only a tool. When dictators lose the confidence of the people, they seek extraordinary tools to stay in power. His actions on SIR cannot be without the concurrence of his masters — the PM and the HM," Venugopal said, adding, "There is a moral responsibility for the PM on this issue. We are demanding resignation from the PM on moral grounds," he said.

Addressing the media after the CWC meeting, Congress communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh, along with Venugopal, said Gandhi spoke for 20-25 minutes and the main point he made was that the revelations related to the EC are being made because of the Congress.

" Gandhi himself has been raising these issues related to polls in Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra and some did not believe him, but now he has been proven right," Mr Ramesh said.

Earlier, in his opening address at the CWC meeting, Kharge put forward Congress' five demands, including making public the complete data regarding every major change made to the electoral rolls and providing political parties with the electoral rolls and relevant data in a simple format and in a timely manner.

The Congress president also demanded an independent and time-bound inquiry wherever evidence of serious discrepancies emerge.

"Those voters whose names have been removed must be fully informed and given an opportunity to appeal, and there must be such transparency in the critical data and decisions related to the election process so that no party has grounds to claim that information is being withheld," the Congress chief said.

Chiding the Congress leaders for not believing that the party will return to power soon, Gandhi recalled a CEC selection committee meeting with the Prime Minister and the Union home minister and said that when he raised objections, Modi said he was only acting as previous Prime Ministers, like Indira Gandhi, would have acted. Gandhi said he reminded the Prime Minister that she lost the subsequent election.

"You don't believe me, but the Prime Minister and the home minister, in the (closed door) meeting, told me, 'When we go, you will come... So you should trust me," Gandhi said.

The former Congress president, according to party insiders, said, “Vote chori happened in 3 states. People didn't understand it initially. The atmosphere changed after I presented proof. There are two types of match-fixing. First, match-fixing through EVMs, and the second match-fixing is done by creating errors in rolls. The 2024 polls were completely fake.”

A light moment came when Congress MP Shashi Tharoor suggested that the party organise an event around Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary, arguing that the BJP could otherwise use the occasion to build its own narrative. Kharge then asked Tharoor whether he would actually attend such an event organised by the party, or whether Congress leaders would only see him on X and read his articles in the newspapers.

In another light moment, according to a leader who attended the meeting, Kharge, while expressing support for Gandhi, said, “Hum aapke peeche chal rahe hain (We are all walking behind you)." To which, Gandhi smiled and asked, “Bahut peeche toh nahin hain? (Not too far behind, I hope?)"

The remark drew laughter from those present. Kharge then responded, “Hum aapke saath chal rahe hain (We are walking alongside you)."

Separately, pressing for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner, the Left parties, as part of a week-long campaign, protested outside the EC headquarters. CPM general secretary M.A. Baby and other Left leaders were detained during their protest amid the ongoing controversy over the special intensive revision of electoral rolls.

Hitting out at Kumar, Baby accused the CEC of turning the Election Commission into a "slaughterhouse of democracy". CPM veteran Brinda Karat, CPI leader and NFIW president Nisha Sidhu, and CPI(ML) Liberation central committee members Sucheta De and Shweta Raj were among those who took part in the protest.