India's Opposition Parties Stage Symbolic Impeachment of Election Commissioner

Kathmandu. India's political opposition parties on Saturday practiced a 'symbolic impeachment' of the Election Commissioner. They took this step in protest against alleged irregularities in the voter list revision. They claim that the revision could give undue advantage to the ruling party. The nationwide revision of the electoral roll for the past one month in the world's largest democracy has led to political controversy and street protests. The Election Commission has stated that this initiative is necessary to ensure a correct voter list, but the opposition parties claim that it has been manipulated to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Both the Election Commission and the BJP have denied these allegations. On Saturday, opposition parties gathered at the residence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge in the capital New Delhi and staged a parliamentary session and debate. They conducted a 'symbolic impeachment' process against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, which has no constitutional or legal power. "The proposal we brought today is a satirical protest program aimed at preserving the dignity of constitutional institutions," Kharge said. He said, "Our intention is to make the Election Commission work impartially in accordance with the spirit of the constitution." According to the Indian constitution, the Chief Election Commissioner can only be removed through a parliamentary process requiring a special majority. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, speaking in the mock debate, said that the opposition was forced to practice 'symbolic impeachment' because 'they have no other place to go'. "We have no other option. Every institution is closed for us," Gandhi said. This program was organized a day before a large opposition rally to be held in Delhi. The rally is supported by the online youth movement 'Crotch Janata Party', which has also supported the campaign against the voter list revision. Meanwhile, Home Minister Amit Shah said that the BJP is ready to call a special session of Parliament to discuss the revision. He said, "They (opposition) do not intend to speak there. They do not let Parliament run. Instead, they only create noise."