Meira Kumar to chair INDIA bloc's mock impeachment of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Opposition leaders have settled the script for a symbolic October 30 "public impeachment" of the Chief Election Commissioner, with Kharge moving the motion and Rahul Gandhi closing the debate.
The INDIA bloc has picked its presiding officer for a staged "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will chair the October 30 proceedings, sources said on Thursday.
The plan follows a meeting of opposition leaders at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, where they finalised the format. Kharge will move the "motion". Rahul Gandhi will give the concluding remarks, and then the motion will be put to adoption.
This is political theatre, not a constitutional process. The opposition calls it a symbolic protest over what it labels "vote chori" (vote theft). Removing a CEC is a formal procedure that runs through Parliament, and this event does not touch it. What the bloc gets is a stage and a message: it wants voters to see the allegations argued out in a parliamentary style.
Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal of the Congress attended the meeting, along with Meira Kumar. Other parties sent their own representatives: Derek O'Brien (TMC), Harendra Malik (Samajwadi Party), Mahua Maji (JMM) and John Brittas (CPI-M).
Congress communications chief Pawan Khera said most INDIA bloc leaders were present and that the group went through each step of how the impeachment would run.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge accused the CEC of "vote theft and mischief" and said the protest would go on. He said all the parties back the campaign. He also pointed to the next events: a mock Parliament the following day, and a rally on November 1 that he said would draw people from across the country. "In a democracy, if you don't fight, people will not be awakened," he said.
The opposition is building a run of street-and-stage events around one charge against the poll body. Whether the October 30 session moves voters or just energises the base will become clear after the rally season.
Source: The Daily Pioneer
