Opposition moves to impeach Election Commission chief as voter roll row deepens

Opposition parties are preparing to file an impeachment motion in Parliament against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with Congress taking the lead in rallying support. A notice for the motion is being drafted and could be submitted within the next two weeks, according to party sources. The push comes after an investigation surfaced reported disagreements between two election commissioners and the CEC over electoral-roll management, decision-making and access to voter data.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has called for Kumar's resignation, alleging widespread vote manipulation and citing election outcomes in Haryana, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh as evidence of what he described as vanishing anti-incumbency. Gandhi said the party would not stay silent while democratic institutions were undermined. Civil society group CJP has also issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding the CEC's resignation, threatening a large protest at Jantar Mantar if he refuses to step down.

The controversy has drawn attention to the case of 97 eligible voters in Goa who were reportedly excluded from the electoral roll, with Congress politician Shashi Tharoor warning that such omissions affect access to government-linked services beyond voting rights alone. The Election Commission's internal divisions have prompted broader questions about how dissent is managed within the poll body and the processes by which election commissioners are appointed. Senior Assam official Himanta Sarma dismissed the criticism, calling it a coordinated opposition campaign against the commission.