Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who came to take stock of the preparations for the Bengal Assembly elections, is facing opposition there. First, he was opposed in Kalighat, the home area of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, where he had come to offer prayers in the temple. The protesters showed them black flags and raised slogans of go-back. Not only this, according to sources, Mamata Banerjee’s party TMC will bring an impeachment motion against the main elections in this session.
Sources claim that TMC wanted this in the first session of the budget session itself, but then Congress wanted to bring an impeachment motion against the Speaker first. Due to this anger, TMC MPs did not sign the Speaker’s proposal. The opposition has also now agreed to bring impeachment to remove Gyanesh Kumar. Now the question is how the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is removed, what is its entire process.
Complete process to remove CEC?
The process of removal of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the Chief Election Commissioner is recorded in Article 124(5) and Article 124(4) of the Indian Constitution. An impeachment motion is brought to remove them. Some important conditions have also been set for this proposal.
It is necessary to pass this proposal by special majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. The reason for removal of the Chief Election Commissioner should be either misbehavior or incompetence. For this, 2/3 majority of the members present in the House is necessary. After the proposal is passed, the President gives its final approval. The same procedure is also adopted in the impeachment of Supreme Court judges.
In the Indian Constitution, equal protection has been given to the Chief Election Commissioner and the Justice of the Supreme Court. However, other Election Commissioners can be removed directly by the President. The Indian Constitution says that even if the President wants to remove other commissioners, it will be mandatory for him to consult the Chief Election Commissioner. This arrangement ensures that the role of the Chief Election Commissioner remains independent.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
The process of removing the Chief Election Commissioner is not easy. This process has also been made difficult because this post is the foundation of the democratic process. To prevent the governments from arbitrarily putting pressure on the Election Commission in any way, they have been given protection like judges in the Constitution.
Has this happened before?
The tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner is 6 years. If we look at the history, we find that till now no Chief Election Commissioner has been removed. This is a symbol of how strong their security cover is in the Indian Constitution. Although, from time to time, political parties have raised questions on the impartiality of the Commission, but no Chief Election Commissioner has been removed.
According to Supreme Court Advocate Ashwini Kumar Dubey, the Indian Constitution has one of the most stringent provisions with a clear procedure for removal of the Chief Election Commissioner. Its purpose is quite clear that this post is to be kept free from political pressure because the independence of this post has been said to be the main pillar of democracy.
Also read: TMC comes out against Gyanesh Kumar, will bring impeachment motion against CEC in Parliament