Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 9: The opposition INDIA bloc parties are likely to move an impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, possibly by the end of the current week, for his removal from the office,
According to sources, the Deputy Leader of the Trinamool Congress in the Lok Sabha, Satabdi Roy, raised the issue at the INDIA bloc meeting chaired by Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, at his office in Parliament on Monday.
The sources said Ms Roy underlined that it has been four days since her party supremo and the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee started her protest against the deletion of names from the electoral rolls during the on-going Special Intensive Revision (SIR) carried out by the ECI. The poll body released the final electoral rolls for the State on February 28. Ms Roy argued that it was crucial for the Opposition to take the next step by moving an impeachment motion against Mr Kumar. Other Opposition leaders agreed with the suggestion, sources said.
While the Trinamool Congress is piloting the motion, the Opposition is working out the details, including the House in which the motion will be moved. A senior Opposition leader said they have the requisite numbers to introduce the motion in either House.
Sources said the INDIA bloc are reportedly collecting signatures from the opposition MPs to submit the notice for impeachment motion expected to be submitted by later this week. The draft notice is already prepared and the opposition leaders have claimed it to be a “team effort” by the like-minded parties. The move is linked mainly to political tensions over electoral roll revisions and allegations about voter list manipulation, which opposition parties say could affect elections.
Article 324(5) of the Constitution says that the CEC can be removed through a parliamentary impeachment process similar to that of a Supreme Court judge. It requires a motion supported by a two‑thirds majority of members present and voting in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The motion may be moved in either House. In the Rajya Sabha, it must be signed by 50 members and in the Lok Sabha by 100 members. The motion must specify the grounds for seeking removal.
Once the motion is moved, the Chair of the respective House must constitute a special committee to investigate the allegations. If the committee finds the CEC guilty, a vote is held on its report. Both Houses must then pass the motion with a two‑thirds majority of those present and voting. After both Houses approve the motion, the President issues the final order for removal. However, even if the impeachment motion is moved, it will not get through without the support of the ruling BJP which currently is in favour of the incumbent CEC.
Meanwhile, the opposition parties on Monday, making a tactical shift, targeted the government over war in the Middle East and its economic and humanitarian impact, with the focus on oil prices and Indian nationals still stuck in Iran while junking the no-confidence motion against the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla.
The first day of the second half of the current budget session of Parliament on Monday began with the opposition MPs shouting slogans and holding placards – ‘Middle East is burning, Indians are stranded, there is no oil. Modiji, stop bowing to (Donald) Trump’ – as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar briefed Parliament.
House proceedings were repeatedly adjourned – this didn’t change either – over the opposition’s demands to discuss the war, which the government refused to accept. A stalemate followed till the Lok Sabha closed for the day at 3 pm.
After the Lok Sabha was adjourned Rahul Gandhi said, “What is happening in West Asia is going to cause significant damage. Our economy is going to suffer a huge loss. You have already seen the state of the stock market. The economy is going to be severely hit… so discuss that.” “What’s the problem in doing that? Oil prices… the country’s economy… these are all public issues. We will discuss the Lok Sabha Speaker’s issue later,” the Leader of the Opposition said.
The government’s pushback came through Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, who branded Rahul Gandhi a “failed” LoP, and ex-minister Anurag Thakur, who said, “The opposition brought a no-confidence motion against the Speaker… but is itself running away from the debate.” The shuffled tactics, sources said, was decided at the Monday morning meeting attended by senior leaders like Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and Samajwadi Party boss Akhilesh Yadav.
In early February the opposition INDIA bloc submitted a vote of no-confidence in Om Birla’s stewardship of the House. The notice, moved by Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, accused Birla of favouring the ruling BJP and not allowing opposition MPs time to speak. The timing of the notice, however, worked against the opposition; it was submitted with less than 14 days left in the first half of the budget session, meaning it could only be picked up now.
Accordingly, last night the opposition thrashed out its battleplan and all INDIA members, even Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress, which often squabbles with the Congress, were ready. Mamata Banerjee’s party, sources said, declared it would vote with the opposition. This morning, however, it was all changed.
At a meeting led by Gandhi and Yadav it was decided the focus should be on the war in Iran, which is now in its ninth day and has claimed the lives of over 1,200 people, including children. US-Israel strikes have also led to oil prices skyrocketing; Israeli strikes on Iranian oil depots over the weekend pushed it to over the US$100 redline, for the first time in four years this morning.
The push to impeach Birla, it was also noted, could be picked up by the Trinamool at a later time; the opposition leaders acknowledged, sources said, that they lack the numbers – even with the Trinamool’s backing – to make a genuine contest of the Om Birla impeachment bid.
