Congress to hold CWC meet on Tuesday to chalk out strategy for CEC's ouster

New Delhi: Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has called a meeting of the party's working committee on Tuesday where the issue of "internal differences" in the Election Commission would be discussed and a roadmap for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal would be chalked out.

Announcing this, Kharge said that the Election Commissioners have "exposed" the working within the poll body by raising concerns over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and changes in Form 6 for enrolling new voters, besides additions and deletions from voter lists and centralised control over the electoral roll database.

He said the issue is very serious and concerns the survival of democracy in the country and has to be taken up on priority.


"I have called a Working Committee meeting for tomorrow, where we will discuss the issue and all the Working Committee members will give their suggestions.

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"We are going to fight this seriously. This issue concerns the entire country, the existence of our democracy and the survival of our country. That is why we are very serious about this issue," he told reporters.

"The Election Commission's own people have exposed them. Even a former chief secretary of Kerala has said that the CEC himself told him to contest the election. This means that he is propagating the BJP's philosophy and has become a BJP worker," he claimed.

"Gyanesh Kumar should resign. We have to take action against him, even after his resignation," the Congress chief said.

The CWC meeting, chaired by Kharge, is likely to be attended by former party chief Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, among others.

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Sources said the party's highest decision-making body will strategise on ramping up pressure over its demand for CEC Kumar's removal and cornering the government on the issue.

They said preparations for the upcoming polls are also likely to be discussed.

The Congress has alleged that Gen Z is being targeted for exclusion during SIR and pressed for its demand that Kumar must resign immediately.

Meanwhile, the opposition INDIA bloc would also meet on Wednesday to chalk out a joint strategy on the issue and is likely to file another notice for removal of CEC Kumar in Parliament.

Under fire over the red flags raised by two of its commissioners over the SIR process, the EC has asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution and all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.

The Election Commission (EC) on Saturday asserted that all SIR orders received unanimous consent from all three Commissioners and that the updates to Form 6 for voter enrolment were upheld by the Supreme Court, as it sought to address issues at the centre of a raging row over decision-making in the poll panel and concerns over exclusion of voters from the rolls.

The EC announced a number of measures under SIR including additional time for filing claims, home visit by election officials and help desks for those facing notices for removal from the rolls.