Rahul Gandhi demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar resign, turn approver in vote fraud case

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, launched a sharp attack on the central government and the Election Commission of India at a press conference in New Delhi. He warned that the country had not seen a crisis of this kind since independence in 1947, raising questions about the safety of votes and autonomous institutions. Calling tampering with electoral rolls and "vote theft" an act of treason, Gandhi aggressively demanded that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar resign immediately and turn approver in the matter.

Speaking at the press conference, Gandhi cited a historical example from the time of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. He said that despite India's major victory in the 1971 Bangladesh war, an anti-incumbency wave had still hit the country and led to a change of government, affecting Indira Gandhi's government as well. He pointed out that governments in Maharashtra and Haryana had changed repeatedly during that period. However, he said the picture had completely changed under the BJP, and asked why the BJP was not affected by anti-incumbency despite it existing. He said vote theft in Haryana was one of the most serious cases, and the manipulation there was extremely worrying.

Targeting CEC Gyanesh Kumar directly, Gandhi said Kumar had been selected by the Prime Minister himself, and that the two other Election Commissioners had now raised serious questions about him. Gandhi advised that Kumar should resign immediately and turn approver in the entire matter, saying Kumar knew well that "we know everything."

Gandhi further said that the vote is the foundation of the country's democracy, and that if votes themselves are tampered with, the strength of the Constitution collapses, and the validity of laws made by Parliament also comes into question. He alleged that in December 2023, the Congress had submitted detailed evidence regarding Maharashtra, and that he had personally given a dissent letter to the Prime Minister, which was ignored. He warned that the party would not stay silent any longer, that there would be serious consequences, that the law would not spare those who committed vote theft, and that everyone would have to answer.

Separately, CEC Gyanesh Kumar's troubles have deepened further. An internal dispute has reportedly broken out within the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, with the two other Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, said to have raised serious objections to Kumar's functioning. The Congress and other opposition parties have taken an aggressive stance against him, alleging he worked for the benefit of the ruling party and compromised impartiality. Congress sources said the party has discussed the matter with other opposition parties and has begun preparing to move an impeachment notice against Gyanesh Kumar in both houses of Parliament in the coming two weeks, triggering a stir in national politics.