Prakash Raj Calls For Impeachment Motion Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Mangaluru: Actor and activist Prakash Raj on Monday called upon Opposition MPs to initiate the process for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the forthcoming winter session of Parliament. He also sought an investigation into the Election Commission’s decisions since 2023.

Prakash Raj was speaking to the media after an interaction session in Mangaluru.

“The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Act was passed in 2023 amid the mass suspension of Opposition MPs. The Act provides legal protection to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners,” he said.

He urged MPs of all Opposition parties to initiate the process for the removal of Kumar.

“However much we shout and raise our voices against him, there is legal protection. Therefore, MPs of all political parties should move an impeachment motion against Gyanesh Kumar,” he said.

Stressing the need to immediately freeze the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Raj said all decisions, rules and procedures adopted by the Election Commission since 2023 and their impact should be examined by an investigative committee.

“We are asking the Supreme Court to do it,” he said.

On elections being held in some States after the SIR exercise, Raj said the proposed investigation should examine the process and, if it finds that there were mistakes in SIR process, appropriate action including annulling the elections could be taken based on evidence which the Supreme Court should decide.

He also expressed concern over the possibility of evidence being lost.

“It should be done quickly. Otherwise, we don't know when there could be a fire in the Election Commission office and when a file might burn,” he said, referring fire incident in West Bengal where about 4,000 EVMs were gutted in a fire and another incident in which a file was reportedly destroyed in a fire while questions were raised against the then Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Raj said the discontent over the SIR could develop into a larger movement, including among young voters and linked it to second freedom movement.

“Since 2024, the inclusion of new voters has not been happening properly. If Gen Z has to come on to the voters' list, they are being asked to provide details about their parents. Why is that needed? The Opposition, lawyers, affected people and farmers are all speaking up. It is getting ready to become bigger than the Gen Z fight. This is another freedom movement,” he said.

“You may be Chanakya, but you should not win an election like this. It should happen only with the people's mandate. One should not be so scared after falling from claims of ‘Chaar Sau paar to 240,” he said referring to BJP.

Raj also said activists would not allow a situation similar to what he alleged had happened in West Bengal to occur in Karnataka.

Questioning the classification of voters under the Absent, Shifted, Dead, Duplicate and Others (ASDDO) category, he asked what the “Others” category represented.

“Officials speak about absent, shifted, dead and duplicate voters. But they were also talking about Bangladeshi infiltrators. How many such people have actually been found?” he asked.

Raj also questioned the centralised process of the SIR.

“Even during a hearing, if a document is uploaded, the AERO does not have the power to approve it. They have to upload it on an app, and it is approved through a centralised system,” he said.