Supreme Court Should Immediately Dismiss the Chief Election Commissioner to Protect a ‘Healthy Democracy’ — Senior Congress Spokesperson Gopal Dada Tiwari
Co-Election Commissioners’ Statements Confirm Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi’s Allegations
Pune, September 23: It has become clear that two of the three Election Commissioners have repeatedly recorded their objections in writing regarding decisions taken by the Chief Election Commissioner. Senior Maharashtra Pradesh Congress spokesperson Gopal Dada Tiwari has demanded that the Supreme Court take suo motu cognisance and dismiss Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Tiwari alleged that Gyanesh Kumar, who was the then Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry and was involved in the initial process of setting up the Ram Mandir Trust, was appointed as Chief Election Commissioner as a “reward.” He further alleged that Kumar has consequently been taking one-sided positions against constitutional values, acting arbitrarily through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and adopting a stance favourable to the ruling BJP.
He further said that, as per the Supreme Court’s directions, the committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India was originally meant to select the Election Commission. However, the ruling BJP removed the Chief Justice of India from the committee and replaced him with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. According to Tiwari, this itself demonstrated the alleged self-serving and unethical intent of the BJP leadership.
He alleged that this was followed by “unfair unilateral decisions” concerning defections and election symbols, through which the ruling BJP succeeded in gaining power in various states.
Tiwari further stated that at a time when constitutional democracy in the country was under threat, two “pillars” of democracy — the two Election Commissioners who are part of the administrative system, and media organisations such as The Indian Express and Loksatta, which he described as playing the role of vigilant media — ultimately brought to light what he termed the arbitrary functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleged “vote theft,” and the weakening of the constitutional democratic process.
He claimed that these developments had ultimately lent support to the allegations made by Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Rahul Gandhi. Tiwari described the alleged developments as “condemnable and disgraceful.”
Referring to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra, Tiwari stated that out of the total 48 Lok Sabha seats, approximately two-thirds, or 31 seats, were won by the Congress-INDIA (MVA) alliance, while 17 seats were won by the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.
However, he alleged that only a few months later, during the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the number of voters increased by approximately 41 lakh and voting after 5:30 p.m. also increased substantially. Tiwari alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar failed to provide satisfactory answers or CCTV footage of voting after the evening hours, and that the disputed election results ultimately helped the BJP-led Mahayuti form the government in Maharashtra.