Chennai, Sept 23 (IANS) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President M.K. Stalin on Wednesday demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that two fellow Election Commissioners had repeatedly objected to decisions taken without their knowledge or approval.
In a statement posted on social media, Stalin also called for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to be stopped.
He sought an impartial inquiry into the Election Commission’s actions and punishment for those found responsible.
Stalin said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections 14 times over 10 months.
“Their reported concerns included decisions on adding and deleting voters and the operation of software used to manage electoral rolls.”
He added that the disclosures raised questions about Assembly election results following SIR exercises.
The DMK and other opposition parties had opposed the removal of large numbers of names from voter lists, he said.
He alleged that revisions carried out shortly before elections had led to serious irregularities, particularly in West Bengal.
The three-member Commission is required to decide matters unanimously wherever possible and by majority opinion when its members disagree.
Stalin asked how decisions could have been taken if two Election Commissioners were unaware of them.
He said the reported objections had damaged confidence in an institution expected to function independently and transparently.
Stalin also referred to concerns about Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), who are legally responsible for updating voter lists.
He said that restrictions in the electoral roll software had prevented officers from exercising their powers, including adding eligible voters in some cases.
He asked who had authorised appeals against court-directed inclusion of voters and why the other Election Commissioners had allegedly not been informed.
These questions warranted an investigation into possible political interference, the DMK President said.
Stalin noted that opposition parties, including the DMK, had earlier submitted a notice seeking Gyanesh Kumar’s removal.
Renewing that demand, the DMK President urged the authorities to remove the CEC immediately, halt SIR and investigate decisions taken within the Commission.
–IANS
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