New Delhi Bureau. Former Kerala Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has intensified his demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. After CPI(M) leaders and student-youth activists were arrested during a protest against the Election Commission at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Friday, Vijayan said — “Gyanesh Kumar must take responsibility and resign.”
‘Arrest an assault on democratic rights’
Writing on the social media platform X, Vijayan said the arrest of CPI(M) General Secretary M.A. Baby, Brinda Karat and student-youth activists during a peaceful protest was “an assault on democratic rights”. He said the Election Commission cannot retain public trust when its actions raise serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
He also targeted the central government — “The Modi government cannot use police force to suppress the demand for electoral transparency. People’s voices cannot be silenced by state power.”
Protest held without permission
Activists of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) had staged the protest on Friday against the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls. Delhi Police had denied permission for the demonstration and imposed prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 — yet the protest went ahead and several leaders were detained.
Baby: ‘Criminal activity of cutting people’s votes’
M.A. Baby, who joined the protest, alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was “nakedly violating” the rules governing the Election Commission. He said, “Gyanesh Kumar should be arrested for the criminal activity of cutting people’s votes. He is not resigning, so he has to be removed — till he is removed, the student-youth movement will continue.”
Brinda Karat too reiterated the demand to remove the CEC and halt the SIR immediately. She said the Election Commission must be fixed by changing the 2023 law.
Notably, the row over the voter-roll revision deepened after an investigative report revealed that two Election Commissioners had formally recorded objections at least 14 times over ten months regarding procedures and the SIR. The Commission, however, has said that differing views are normal in a multi-member constitutional body and that all final decisions, including those on the SIR, were taken unanimously.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
