Nashik: Congress Demands Dismissal, Arrest Of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar

Nashik: The Nashik City (District) Congress Committee submitted a memorandum to the District Collector on Monday, demanding the dismissal and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged manipulation of voter lists through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

The memorandum was submitted under the leadership of Nashik City Congress President Nilesh (Bablu) Arjun Khaire. The party alleged that the Election Commission, which is responsible for conducting free and fair elections, has in recent years shown increasing partisanship and was functioning in favour of the ruling party.

The Congress alleged that large numbers of voters were being removed from electoral rolls under the SIR process. It also cited reports claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded dissent against decisions taken by Gyanesh Kumar on 14 occasions over the past 10 months.

According to the memorandum, the alleged disagreements related to the SIR process, registration of new voters, deletion of names and changes to IT systems. The Congress alleged that several decisions were taken without keeping the other commissioners informed.

The memorandum also cited alleged irregularities in voter lists, including the deletion of 12 lakh names in West Bengal, removal of lakhs of names in Bihar and the alleged addition of 45 lakh ‘bogus’ voters ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections.

The party also referred to concerns raised by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over the functioning of the Election Commission and alleged manipulation of the electoral machinery to benefit the ruling BJP.

The Congress alleged that the actions of Gyanesh Kumar amounted to a violation of democratic and constitutional values and demanded his removal from office and arrest.

The memorandum was signed by Nilesh Arjun Khaire along with other office-bearers and activists of the District Congress Committee.