The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) Bloc has conducted a “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday.
The proceedings took place in the gardens of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s official residence at 10, Rajaji Marg, in the national capital.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided over the event, while Kharge introduced the motion.
Here Are The Latest Updates On The “Public Impeachment” Of CEC:
– NCP-SP MP Bajrang Manohar Sonawane supported the impeachment motion brought against the CEC on behalf of his party, saying the Election Commission was created to protect the vote, but today its attitude is evident to everyone.
– “We raised our voice against ‘vote theft’ during the Maharashtra assembly elections, which led to an FIR, but now the matter has been shelved. Votes are continuously being split in the name of SIR, and the same has happened in Maharashtra,” he added.
– Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant accused the ECI of voter deletions and irregularities in the Maharashtra elections, asking who gave it the right to steal votes.
– Speaking at the event, TMC MP Sagarika Ghose asserted that the Bengal Assembly election 2026 was stolen. She backs the impeachment resolution and accuses CEC Gyanesh Kumar of colluding with the Modi government over alleged voter deletions at the INDIA bloc’s symbolic public impeachment.
– Kharge demanded legal action against the CEC for alleged treason in a court of law in accordance with the legal framework of the Constitution. Members of Parliament of the INDIA alliance, representing over sixty per cent of the population of India, along with the citizens assembled in New Delhi on October 31, 2026, resolved that for this gross betrayal of the people of India, the Chief Election Commissioner, Mr Gyanesh Kumar, must be tried for treason in a court of law in accordance with the legal framework of the Constitution of India,” he added.
– Addressing the impeachment event, Kharge said they were fighting to protect people’s rights. “Since 2014, every possible conspiracy has been hatched to seize and retain power. They have stolen MPs, broken up political parties, toppled governments, and used electoral bonds, the ED, and the CBI, and now they are stealing votes. We have hundreds of examples of such vote theft,” he added.
– Gyanesh Kumar is able to facilitate this theft due to the 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, Kharge said, adding that this bill was passed in December 2023 after suspending 145 opposition MPs. It is shameful and a disgrace, he added.
– “The United States, Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, or France, for instance, in many of these countries, women were not granted the right to vote immediately upon the establishment of democracy. India, however, is a nation that granted this right to everyone the moment its Constitution came into effect. It extended this right to women, Dalits, the marginalised, the poor, regardless of their background. Even back then, the RSS raised objections to this right and opposed it,” Kharge said.
– At the INDIA bloc’s symbolic public impeachment program against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, former Lok Sabha Speaker and Congress leader Meira Kumar said it has been decided that the INDIA bloc will convene a meeting to bring forward an impeachment motion to remove Gyanesh Kumar from his position. This impeachment motion will be moved in the Rajya Sabha by the Leader of the Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge, who will subsequently deliver a statement, she added.
– AISA Chief Neha Bora arrived at Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence.
-Lok Sabha LoP and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi arrived at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
Can CEC Be Removed By Public impeachment?
No. A symbolic proceeding conducted by political parties cannot remove the Chief Election Commissioner. A “public impeachment” (also referred to by the opposition as Jan Mahabhiyog or a “People’s Impeachment”) is a symbolic political protest and public hearing structured to mimic formal parliamentary trial proceedings. It is not a legally binding constitutional process and carries no official authority to remove an official from office.
Under Article 324(5) of the Indian Constitution, a Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) can only be removed from office through a rigorous, formal impeachment process passed by both Houses of Parliament with a special two-thirds majority, numbers which the current opposition does not have. The opposition is holding a public, simulated trial to present its “evidence” directly to the citizens and the media, as a formal impeachment has not yet been granted by the authorities.
The event was earlier conceived as a “Mock Parliament”, where politicians would play the roles of both the treasury and opposition benches. However, the format was changed to a “Public Impeachment” to ensure the event focused entirely on the specific allegations against the individual and avoided any imagery that could be viewed as mocking or insulting Parliament as a formal institution.
The SIR Row
Over the past few weeks, the INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) have held massive protests over the issue in the heart of the national capital.
The INDIA bloc has accused the Election Commission of failing to address concerns about alleged voter-list irregularities and disenfranchisement linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. These accusations remain political allegations and should not be treated as established findings against the CEC.Saturday’s programme is expected to resemble parliamentary proceedings, although it will have no statutory standing.