New Delhi: Opposition parties have again stepped up their challenge to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, submitting a resolution notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking his removal.
According to the notice, signed by 73 MPs including members of the Congress, DMK and Trinamool Congress, the CEC has allegedly acted in a partisan manner while enforcing the Model Code of Conduct.
The move follows opposition complaints that Prime Minister Narendra Modi made political remarks in an address to the public ahead of the first phase of elections in Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. Opposition parties had urged the Election Commission to take action, but allege that no steps have been taken so far.
Congress MP Jairam Ramesh and Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose submitted the signed notice to the Rajya Sabha Secretary-General. The resolution states that the CEC has not issued any clarification, statement, direction or response to the allegations raised by multiple opposition parties regarding the Prime Minister’s conduct.
Earlier, similar notices moved by opposition MPs in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were rejected by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, respectively.
