Bengaluru, September 25: Dr. Anand Kumar, National Coordinator of the AICC SC Department and in-charge of Maharashtra, has said that Chief Election Commissioner of the Election Commission of India, Gyanesh Kumar, has caused the system of the world’s largest democracy to deteriorate and that the “cup of his sins is full.” He said that before people take to the streets, Gyanesh Kumar should resign from his post and step down, as there is no other option left for him.
“Whether it is Gyanesh Kumar or anyone else serving as the Chief Election Commissioner, the Election Commission is bigger than any individual. The Constitution is bigger than the Election Commission. And the people’s right to vote is bigger than the Constitution. Since Gyanesh Kumar has taken away the voting rights of the people, it would be appropriate for him to resign and atone for it,” he said.
In a statement, he said that in India’s democracy, the Election Commission is not merely an office that conducts elections. It is the guardian of the people’s right to vote. When doubts arise about the very guardian, it must face scrutiny. Three days have passed since the alleged irregularities came to light, yet the Commission has still not called a press conference to reveal the truth. This, he claimed, indicates that all the allegations are true. He criticized the Commission for failing to publicly respond to the allegations in a clear and document-based manner.
“The foundation of democracy is the voter. The moment doubts arise about a voter’s vote, doubts about democracy itself begin. If that voter’s name disappears from the electoral roll, an election becomes merely a one-day voting exercise. If the credibility of the electoral rolls is questioned, the credibility of democracy itself comes under question. Is this merely an internal disagreement within the Election Commission? Or is it a larger question concerning the independence of the country’s electoral system? The Election Commission itself must answer all these questions,” he said.
He further stated that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have questioned the decisions of the Chief Election Commissioner 14 times in ten months. They wrote four letters on a single day. Through dissenting letters, they expressed their disagreement with decisions that, according to them, could undermine the electoral system. The Chief Election Commissioner is only the first among the three commissioners, and he does not have greater authority than the other two. Therefore, Dr. Anand Kumar said that there must be public discussion regarding the decision-making process, majority decisions, internal deliberations, and recorded disagreements within the Commission.
“The biggest challenge before Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is not to face criticism from opposition parties, but to preserve public confidence in the Election Commission. Whatever the Commission’s official position may be, answering questions does not diminish the dignity of the institution. Transparency strengthens public trust in the institution. This is not a question about an individual; it is a question about the institution. Therefore, whenever allegations are made against the Election Commission, it is not appropriate to dismiss them merely as ‘political allegations by the opposition,’” he said.
He added, “If there are allegations, they should be investigated. If there are documents, they should be made public. If there are objections, they should be answered. If there are mistakes, they should be corrected. If the names of eligible voters have been deleted, they should be restored.
Dr. Anand Kumar further alleged that irregularities also took place during the Maharashtra Assembly elections held after Gyanesh Kumar became an Election Commissioner. He said that Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi had comprehensively exposed what he described as “vote theft” in this regard.
“Since I am in charge of Maharashtra, political analysts and others had predicted that the Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena alliance would certainly come to power in the last Assembly election. However, the alliance suffered a humiliating defeat in the results. Evidence has now emerged that the Election Commission was misused by the BJP government at the Centre to defeat the Congress-led alliance,” Dr. Anand Kumar said.
