Karnataka CM Shivakumar seeks President's intervention to dissolve EC, wants CEC's removal

Bengaluru: Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday sought President’s intervention to dissolve the Election Commission of India and demanded arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and annulment of elections held “fraudulently,” alleging the EC is BJP’s “puppet” and partner in “vote theft” targeting poor voters.

Speaking at KPCC protest at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, the CM called the CEC as “Chief Selection Commissioner” and demanded for a fresh revision of electoral rolls.

Explained | EC dissent row: Form 6, IT oversight & more; what Sandhu and Joshi flagged, how poll panel responded

“The Centre should convene a special session to debate the SIR issue,” said Shivakumar adding that the SIR stir would be held at every village and the local body polls in November-December would use ballot paper.

KPCC president B K Hariprasad demanded immediate resignation and arrest of Gyanesh Kumar, alleging EC was misusing its constitutional authority and undermining democratic process through SIR.

“Rahul Gandhi called for the agitation to protect the Constitution and to oppose misuse of powers by constitutional authorities. Around 1.07 crore voters have been excluded from Karnataka’s draft electoral roll, 64 lakh voters in Bihar, 91 lakh in West Bengal and 38 lakh voters in Bengal were put on hold after issuing notices. Congress will continue the agitation until Gyanesh Kumar resigns,” said Hariprasad.

65,000 voter deletion forms had no valid signature, claims KPCC president B K Hariprasad

He alleged the two Election Commissioners had expressed dissent on 14 occasions during the past 10 months, but decisions were taken unilaterally by the CEC.

“Modification of Form 6, used for inclusion of names in electoral rolls, was among the decisions taken despite such differences. The 2023 changes to the law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners removed the Chief Justice of India from the selection process and was replaced by a Union minister,” charged Hariprasad.

Former CM Siddaramaiah demanded sacking of CEC and filing criminal cases, saying the EC developments had caused anxiety among people who believe in democracy.

He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has no moral right to continue in power as he captured power through “vote chori.”