Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray today demanded the immediate removal and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and fresh elections in Maharashtra, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu in the wake of differences emerging in the Election Commission of India’s top brass. Referring to reports in a media report that two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had reportedly raised objections on multiple occasions over certain decisions concerning electoral rolls and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR), Thackeray accused the ECI of becoming ‘a part of a wider political operation’ intended to weaken democratic institutions. “There’s a ‘gang’ of people within the election system that is conniving to split political parties, grab their names and poll symbols, and are ‘murdering democracy’. The horrific, ugly and grotesque face of Gyanesh Kumar has been exposed. The Supreme Court must take suo motu cognizance of the entire controversy,” demanded Thackeray. Pointing to the ECI claims that it follows the directives of the Ministry of Home Affairs, he said “this raises questions whether the Home Minister is the ‘mastermind’, which needs to be clarified”. “If so, then he too must face the appropriate punishment,” said Thackeray, hinting at Amit Shah. Dwelling on the expose on ECI, he slammed the poll panel for “operating in an arbitrary fashion with Gyanesh Kumar, who is driven by a lust for power”, and reiterated that the CEC must be removed and jailed forthwith. To a query on following the rules, Thackeray shot back: “Did he follow the rules? Then why talk of rules for him sack and jail him. We salute the two ECs (Sandhu and Joshi) for bringing this out and opening the eyes of the country.” Attempting to douse the flames engulfing its credibility, the ECI said that there may be differences but these were thoroughly discussed and all the final decisions were taken unanimously by all the three top functionaries with their signatures. Thackery said around 45 lakh voters were added to the electoral rolls between the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections (both 2024), and objections were subsequently raised on more than 40 lakh of those voter names. NCP (SP) seeks all-party meet The Sharad Pawar-led NCP (SP) on Wednesday called for an immediate all-party meeting to discuss reports of differences emerging within the Election Commission, saying the issue concerns the constitutional rights of every citizen and should not be treated as a political matter. She said the allegations should be discussed openly to establish whether there was any substance in them. Asked if Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar should “step aside”, Sule said there should be an open discussion on whether the allegations are true. “If the system is going to collapse, then who we should trust in this country,” the Lok Sabha member from Baramati constituency in western Maharashtra said.
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