'Trust in EC blown to shreds': Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi targets CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi on Wednesday accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of damaging public trust in the Election Commission, as opposition parties stepped up their criticism following reports of objections raised by two Election Commissioners over decisions linked to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. "Gyanesh Kumar has shown immense loyalty towards Amit Shah and Prime Minister Modi. Now, to advance his career, he should think ahead -- he should consider going to the Rajya Sabha, dream of entering the Rajya Sabha, or dream of becoming a minister," Gogoi said. Gogoi questioned the credibility of the poll panel and alleged that Kumar had shown "immense loyalty" towards Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also suggested that Kumar could be considering a future political role. He further alleged that public confidence in the Election Commission's impartiality had been severely affected. "The trust that the entire nation had in the Election Commission being impartial -- that trust has been completely blown to shreds," he said. Gogoi also demanded that the 2023 law providing protection to the Chief Election Commissioner be declared unconstitutional and called for the pending Rajya Sabha motion seeking Kumar's removal to be taken up. His remarks came after reports claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over 10 months regarding decisions connected to electoral rolls and the SIR process. The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter additions and deletions, control of electoral databases and the implementation of decisions taken by electoral authorities.