Congress Plans Symbolic Impeachment Against CEC Gyanesh Kumar

The INDIA bloc will stage a symbolic impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at its November 1 rally, Congress MP JB Mather has said.

According to Mather, the event will include arguments, speeches and a public symbolic impeachment process. She said the bloc is adopting this method to convey a strong message that Kumar should step down. She maintained that people across the country are tired of a chief election commissioner who has lost his credibility yet continues in office, and that he should be removed.

Mather questioned the government's sincerity after Home Minister Amit Shah spoke of calling a special session. She said the government's words and actions do not match, and that the Congress has always been prepared for a parliamentary debate on any issue.

She also criticised the government's record in the monsoon session, saying the Prime Minister and the Home Minister were rarely seen in Parliament. According to her, the government had grown fearful of paper leaks, student protests and youth agitation, and had used pellet guns against students. She added that young people had been arrested and jailed for carrying the national flag.

Mather praised Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as one of the greatest and most distinguished leaders of the Congress and of India, whose name is inscribed in golden letters in both national and party history. She said the Congress did not learn about Patel only after 2014, and that its respect for him requires no certificate. She also named Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, B.R. Ambedkar and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad as leaders the country takes pride in, while accusing the BJP of choosing only leaders of its own preference.

On the vote chori issue, Mather said the party would continue its programmes until Kumar resigns, and would submit memoranda and file petitions before every authority it can approach. She described it as a major effort to ensure his resignation.