In a first for the country, the opposition has unified to initiate the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC). On Friday, a motion was tabled in both houses of Parliament against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, alleging blatant favouritism towards the ruling BJP during voter list revisions, particularly the ‘SIR’ process in non-BJP ruled states like West Bengal. Approximately 193 MPs from the ‘INDIA’ bloc, including Congress, TMC, and AAP, have signed the notice.

Key Allegations: The opposition alleges that the Commission intentionally facilitated BJP’s political interests by manipulating voter rolls—including the arbitrary deletion of minority voters and misclassifying living citizens as deceased. CM Mamata Banerjee had previously raised these grievances directly with the Commission and held a sit-in protest in Delhi.

The Removal Process: The removal of the CEC follows the same constitutional procedure as that of a Supreme Court judge, as per the Judges Inquiry Act, 1968:

• A notice must be moved in both houses of Parliament.
• The motion requires a two-thirds majority of members present and voting in the house where it is tabled.
• Once passed, a joint committee of the Chairman and Speaker is formed to investigate the charges of “proven misbehaviour or incapacity.”

This historic political confrontation signals a deepening rift between the opposition and the Election Commission regarding the integrity of the electoral process.