DMK president MK Stalin, on Wednesday, echoed other Opposition parties demand to sack Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over 'internal dissent'
row and also called for halting the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise across the country. Former TN CM sought a fair probe as to what concerns did the other two Election Commissioners raised regarding the electoral roll revision campaign. CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign from his post as he has no right to continue in the office. Demanding that the SIR exercise be halted, the former Tamil Nadu chief minister sought a fair probe, "into everything that transpired within the EC and those responsible should be held accountable." Stalin, in a statement, said that the "explosive findings," published by Indian Express backed by evidence, had cast "serious doubts" over the results of every Assembly election held after the SIR exercise. He said his party had all along consistently opposed move to delete crores of voters from the electoral rolls in the name of SIR. It was "rushed through just months ahead of elections in state after state, and it was riddled with irregularities, sparking widespread unrest, particularly in West Bengal," he alleged. As early as March this year, the DMK, along with other Opposition parties, moved an impeachment motion against Kumar. "He has no right to continue in office any longer. Kumar must go immediately. The SIR exercise must be halted. The DMK demands a fair and thorough investigation into everything that has transpired within the Election Commission and that those responsible be held accountable," Stalin said. The investigation by the newspaper reveals that Chief Election Commissioner Kumar had been acting unilaterally and in secrecy, without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners. Even more alarming is the revelation that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi were kept in the dark about the crucial decisions being taken within the very institution they jointly oversee. "Their objections to decisions being taken without their knowledge were brushed aside on as many as 14 occasions in just 10 months. These revelations have severely eroded the credibility of the Election Commission," he alleged. The Election Commission's business, as far as possible, must be transacted unanimously. If the Commissioners differ, the decision must be based on the majority view. If two of its three members were themselves kept unaware of what was being done in the Commission's name, this cannot be dismissed as a mere internal or procedural matter, the Dravidian party leader argued. "It constitutes a grave assault on Indian democracy. The credibility of an apex institution that is expected to function independently, transparently and without political interference has been seriously compromised," the DMK chief alleged. The revelations concerning the electoral rolls are "equally disturbing. Appeals were filed against the inclusion of voters even after courts had ordered that their names be added to the electoral rolls. "Who authorised these appeals, who filed them, the two ECs themselves say they were kept in the dark." The law empowers Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to scrutinise and revise electoral rolls. "Yet, they were unable to add even those who had been duly found eligible to vote. ERONet, the digital platform through which these changes had to be made, was entirely under the control of one person." When such concerns are being raised by two serving ECs, the extent of political interference that may have taken place within the Election Commission is plain to see, Stalin claimed. With inputs from PTI
