Priyanka Gandhi seeks EC safeguards scrapped, asks CEC Gyanesh Kumar to quit

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Saturday demanded that the legal safeguards given to the Election Commissioner be removed, alleging that the BJP government had put them in place to shield the poll panel from accountability. She also called for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, saying the INDIA bloc was united in seeking his removal.

Speaking to reporters, the Wayanad MP said she believed the protections enjoyed by the Election Commissioner should not continue. She alleged that what was happening was illegal and unconstitutional, and accused the BJP government of protecting the Election Commissioner.

"I strongly believe that the legal safeguards that are provided to the Election Commissioner, which were instituted by the BJP government to protect him no matter what he does, those safeguards need to be removed," she said. "If anyone is committing illegal acts against the nation, against our Constitution, against India, they need to be tried for the criminal action they are involved in. This is treason and they need to be tried for it," she added.

Vadra further alleged that if an Election Commissioner was committing such serious crimes against democracy, it would be practically impossible to do so without the support of the leadership. "Our immediate demand is that Gyanesh Kumar should resign. The INDIA bloc is united in this demand. Every single leader in the alliance is in full agreement that what is going on is absolutely illegal and unconstitutional," she said.

She was responding to questions about reports of differences within the three-member Election Commission over various decisions and instructions related to electoral roll revision, deletion and addition of names, changes to forms for new voters, and access to voter data. In sum, Vadra demanded the removal of legal protections for the Election Commissioner and sought Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, saying the INDIA bloc was united on both demands.