Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Monday rejected notices submitted by Opposition MPs seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, without providing specific reasons for their decision.
The notices, submitted on March 12, were signed by 63 members of the Rajya Sabha and 130 Lok Sabha MPs, meeting the minimum requirement for such motions.
The Opposition, led by the Trinamool Congress, had accused Kumar of “partisan and discriminatory conduct” alleging abuse of constitutional authority, The Indian Express reported.
They also accused the poll commissioner of “obstruction of investigation into electoral fraud” and the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in several states and Union Territories.
The decisions rejecting the notices were communicated through parliamentary bulletins issued on Monday. The bulletins stated that the notices had been declined after “due consideration” and a “careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved”.
The presiding officers cited their powers under Section 3 of the 1968 Judges Inquiry Act, which allows them to admit or refuse the motions following consultation and review of available material.
The removal process for the chief election commissioner follows the same procedure as that for judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
An impeachment motion is required to be signed by 100 Lok Sabha MPs or 50 Rajya Sabha members. If the motion is admitted in both Houses, a three-member committee investigates the matter. A vote is conducted in Parliament on the impeachment if the panel finds misconduct. If the motion gets two-thirds of the votes, the president is advised to remove the election commissioner.
On Monday, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said on social media that no reason had been given for the rejection and accused the Union government of “mocking our great Parliament”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, “we know what happened to the last chairman of the Rajya Sabha who accepted a petition moved by Opposition MPs”.
In July, an Opposition notice seeking the removal of Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma was admitted, The Hindu reported. Jagdeep Dhankhar, the chairman at the time, had resigned shortly afterwards citing health reasons.
Several Opposition leaders had raised questions about the timing of Dhankhar’s resignation. Ramesh had said at the time that there were “far deeper reasons” behind Dhankhar’s decision.
The Opposition has repeatedly accused the poll body of operating as an extension of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s political machinery.
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