INDIA Bloc Holds Symbolic Proceeding Against Election Chief

INDIA bloc leaders held a symbolic public-impeachment proceeding against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 31, passing a resolution calling for his removal and accusing him of electoral misconduct. The allegations have not been established as findings of wrongdoing, and the proceeding has no legal authority to remove him. The event took place at the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in New Delhi. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided, and opposition leaders and other attendees took part. The resolution was approved by a show of hands, according to the bloc’s account. Kharge set out six allegations, including that electoral rolls had been manipulated, eligible voters deleted, statutory Form 6 altered without parliamentary oversight and roll administration centralized through the Election Commission’s ECINET system. He also alleged that the Commission’s other members had been excluded from decisions and that the chief election commissioner had compromised the body’s independence. These remain claims made by the opposition, not established findings. The Election Commission of India has disputed at least some of the allegations. In a...