The Election Commission is caught in a major controversy over allegations of irregularities against its head and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The poll body has three members – the other two being election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
The latest controversy stems from a report that said Mr Sandhu and Mr Joshi were kept in the dark about various decisions taken by the Election Commission, a constitutional body. It further said that the two election commissioners objected to several of these decisions and even complained to the chief secretary.
The revelations have led to opposition leaders demanding resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the chief of one of the most trusted institutions in the country. They have been citing the dissent notes from the other two election commissioners and accusing Mr Kumar of violating the foundational principle of democracy . I believe that, politically speaking, it shows a total absence of wisdom, and politically speaking, a complete void of knowledge.
The investigative report by Indian Express said there were 14 instances in the past 10 months when the two members of the poll body objected to the decisions “on record”. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called Mr Kumar a traitor ( Deshdrohi ) adding his party won’t remain a mute spectator and watch democracy in India “being destroyed”. The Election Commission, on its part, said in a statement that “differing views” were part of its “decision-making process”. But according to the Indian Express report, Mr Sandhu recorded in a file noting in August that the change in Form 6 (for inclusion of name in electoral roll) was “unauthorised and illegal” and should be removed immediately. The BJP on Wednesday launched a strong attack on Congress and other opposition parties over their criticism of the Modi government concerning SIR and the functioning of the Election Commission and said no attempt is being made to “save any specific individual”, but the ruling party at the Centre is “trying to save India’s democracy”. “Rahul Gandhi said ‘Anti-incumbency is an established truth of this country, and that has happened after the BJP came to power’. Rahul Gandhi ji doesn’t know this, yes, it is true that anti-incumbency is definitely very consistent and strong against the Congress,” said Mr Trivedi.
