The Kerala Chief Minister's Office has launched a sharp attack on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of acting as a "BJP agent"
after former Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson alleged that Kumar had asked him to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election on a BJP ticket. Thomson claimed the said conversation took place in 2016, when both were serving in government, and that he was asked to contest from Pathanamthitta and could become a Union minister if he won. "Allegations against Chief Election Commissioner extremely serious: Gyanesh Kumar, accused of delivering a death sentence to Indian democracy, has no right to remain in office," the Kerala CMO's office said in a statement. "The revelations made by former Kerala Chief Secretary Jiji Thomson against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar are extremely serious. There is no need for any further evidence to establish that Gyanesh Kumar acted as a BJP agent. It has now been established that Gyanesh Kumar was an agent who worked to undermine democracy for the BJP. History will record Gyanesh Kumar, who allegedly compromised the credibility of the Election Commission for the BJP, as someone who delivered a “death sentence” to Indian democracy," the statement added.
'Grave danger to democracy': Kerala CMO
The Kerala CMO's office asserted that Kumar should not remain in office after allegedly "undermining democracy".
"Gyanesh Kumar is an officer with a “criminal mind” who has allegedly tied the Election Commission, which is required to function with complete independence, to the “stable” of the Sangh Parivar. His continued presence in office would pose a grave danger to Indian democracy," it said, adding that he had "undermined the transparency, integrity, impartiality and democratic commitment of the Election Commission".
This comes after LoP Rahul Gandhi accused Gyanesh Kumar of "fixing elections in India."
In the original post, Keralam Congress alleged that Thomson was offered ministerial berths by then-IAS officer Kumar.
