CEC impeachment motion rejected: What can opposition do next? | India News
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on Monday rejected the opposition’s impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.This was the first time a notice to remove the Election Commission chief was issued with the signatures of 130 Lok Sabha MPs and 63 Rajya Sabha members.The 10-page impeachment motion has leveled seven charges against Gyanesh Kumar. Allegations range from biased behavior of the CEC to widespread disenfranchisement of voters in various states. This comes after the election body faced opposition over a pan-India purge of the electoral roll – Special Intensive Revision (SIR).The opposition also raised the issue of the way the CEC handled the SIR in the upcoming elections in states like Bihar and West Bengal; his “proven misconduct”; His partial behavior towards a political party is also a matter mentioned in the notice.The notice to remove the TMC-run CEC comes after mounting complaints from opposition parties against Gyanesh Kumar.They accused the CEC of being biased and running an arbitrary Special Intensive Corrections (SIR) exercise to help the BJP. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is leading protests over the SIR process in her state. Other opposition parties are also attacking the CEC, with Rahul Gandhi running a “vote-stealing” campaign.‘told you so’After the motion was rejected, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh took a jab at Vice President Radhakrishnan, recalling the episode of his predecessor Jagdeep Dhankhar, where he resigned hours after accepting a motion to remove Justice Yashwant Verma.“We know what happened to the last Rajya Sabha chairman who accepted a petition moved by opposition MPs,” Jairam Ramesh said in a social media post.TMC MP Derek O’Brien also attacked the Center and accused it of making a “mockery” of the parliamentary system.“Ah! Told you so,” he said in a social media post on X.“Rejection of notice to remove CEC Vanish Kumar by Rajya Sabha MPs. Reason? No reason given. BJP continues to mock our great parliament. Shameful,” he added.
What can the opposition do?
After the proposal is rejected, the opposition has options, albeit limited.The removal process follows the procedure laid down in the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. The opposition can move motions in the Lok Sabha. The process will restart with the Speaker’s admission decision, as motions arise independently in both houses.Additionally, the opposition may also consider approaching the Supreme Court. This may create “moral pressure” on CEC Gyanesh Kumar to step down if a petition is filed against him in the Supreme Court.In 2018, the Congress challenged the rejection of the impeachment of then CJI Dipak Misra by then Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.Congress leader and senior lawyer Kapil Sibal, who was also a signatory to the impeachment notice, raised the case for emergency listing before a bench.
