India's opposition demands removal of Election Commission chief over alleged illegal voter-roll revision decisions affecting 130 million voters.
India’s opposition parties are calling for the ouster of the Election Commission’s chief after a newspaper investigation alleged he may have illegally overruled colleagues on voter-roll revisions that struck 130 million names from electoral rolls. The probe found the commission head bypassed required consensus procedures at least 14 times over 10 months.
- ▪Election Commission chief Gyanesh Kumar allegedly overruled two other members at least 14 times in past 10 months on voter-roll decisions
- ▪The overrulings may violate commission rules requiring consensus of at least two of three members for major decisions
- ▪Approximately 130 million voters were removed from rolls following these disputed decisions
- ▪Congress party accused Kumar of acting unilaterally on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling BJP
- ▪Ruling coalition says voter-roll revision targets fraudulently registered voters; opposition claims it’s politically motivated
- ▪Congress leader K.C. Venugopal demanded Kumar’s immediate removal and a Supreme Court-monitored investigation
- ▪Arvind Kejriwal of the opposition Aam Aadmi Party accused Kumar of ‘vote-rigging’
- ▪Election Commission has faced mounting scrutiny over nationwide voter-roll revision that began last year
Source: according to media reports
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