Opposition prepares fresh notice seeking CEC Kumar’s removal

Opposition parties led by Congress are preparing a fresh notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with plans to submit it in both Houses of Parliament, according to people briefed on the effort. The draft is being reviewed by legal experts; reports differ on whether submission is expected within days or within two weeks, and no filing has been confirmed. The move follows a report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months concerning electoral-roll procedures and the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR. The reported concerns included changes to voter registration Form 6, the addition and deletion of names, and centralized handling of electoral-roll data. The account of the objections is based on that report; the underlying records and full context have not been made available in the material reviewed. The Election Commission said differing views and observations are normal during institutional deliberations. It maintained that its orders over the past year, including decisions concerning SIR, were unanimous and had legal sanction.