Kharge questions 2023 law
Kharge also criticised the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, arguing that its protections weakened accountability.
He said the legislation had been passed in December 2023 following the suspension of 145 opposition MPs.
Kharge further claimed that 193 opposition MPs had submitted notices in both Houses of Parliament seven months earlier seeking Kumar’s removal, but that those notices had been rejected.
Accusing the BJP of using institutional and political means to retain power since 2014, he linked the current electoral dispute to opposition complaints about defections, the fall of state governments, electoral bonds and the use of investigative agencies.
He also accused the government of restricting transport and internet services during protests while portraying opposition demonstrators as responsible for disorder.
TMC demands fresh Bengal elections
Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose demanded Kumar’s removal, an end to SIR and fresh elections in West Bengal.
She accused the Prime Minister, Home Minister and CEC of acting together, describing the arrangement as a “Modi-Shah-Gyanesh alliance”.
Ghose claimed that the West Bengal election had been “stolen” and challenged the legitimacy of the BJP government in the state.
Samajwadi Party MP Harendra Malik, meanwhile, called SIR a “direct attack” on PDA — the party’s formulation encompassing backward classes, Dalits and minorities.
He claimed that Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class and minority voters were disproportionately losing their places on electoral rolls. Malik described the revision as electoral “match-fixing” and backed the demand for Kumar’s removal.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar stressed the importance of protecting every eligible voter, saying that denying even one person the opportunity to vote damaged democracy.
The supplied material did not include responses from the Election Commission, Kumar, the BJP or the government to the opposition’s accusations.
With agency inputs
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