Rahul Gandhi attacks election chief as BJP slams opposition's theatrical impeachment stunt
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Rahul Gandhi threatened chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and hinted at more revelations from the opposition's staged parliamentary drama, while the BJP condemned the impeachment move as a sham that insults democracy.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, issued a warning to the Bharatiya Janata Party that chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar may not last in his role. Gandhi said the opposition’s mock Parliament session, organized by the INDIA bloc in Delhi, could be used to float fresh allegations about Kumar.
"Gyanesh Kumar won't survive as CEC. If the BJP insists on keeping him after what we reveal, we'll know what its game is," Gandhi told participants at the event.
The INDIA bloc unanimously passed a resolution demanding Kumar’s impeachment, accusing him of electoral irregularities, deletions from voter lists and weakening the Election Commission’s independence. Gandhi claimed the opposition was forced to discuss the matter in a garden because, in his view, institutions were closed off to them.
"It is absurd that the entire Opposition has to sit in a garden to discuss the CEC's impeachment as every institution is closed for us," he said.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra responded that the opposition’s behavior amounted to a "mockery" of democracy and Parliament. Patra accused Congress of spreading false claims about the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and said the opposition should stop its staged proceedings.
"And I have a humble request: please, do not dismantle this mock parliament you have created. Just seat Rahul Gandhi on the treasury benches… Keep him as your 'mock Prime Minister' for life; we have absolutely no objection," Patra said.
The resolution includes six charges against Kumar, including alleged manipulation of the electoral roll revision process. The symbolic impeachment came ahead of a large rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan, where leaders plan to highlight alleged electoral misconduct and demand Kumar’s resignation.