The opposition submitted a notice to parliament this week seeking a motion to oust the CEC

New Delhi: The joint opposition has stepped up its attack on Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and is collecting signatures from Congress members to submit notices to the secretariats of both houses of Parliament this week seeking a motion to remove him. This is the first time a notice has been issued calling for the revocation of a CEC.This notice – by TMC — shall be submitted to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the Lok Sabha through the Secretary-General of each House. According to sources, the notice made nearly a half-dozen accusations calling for the removal of the Central Election Commission, ranging from partisan conduct by the Central Election Commission to large-scale disenfranchisement of voters. Sources said the letter was signed by MPs from all parties in the India Group and even those from the Aam Aadmi Party, which is not part of the group. The document is likely to be filed on Thursday, but no later than Friday, sources said.As of Wednesday evening, about 120 MPs had signed the notice to be submitted to the Lok Sabha and about 60 MPs had signed the notice to be submitted to the Upper House.Under the procedure, at least 100 MPs must sign a notice seeking the removal of the Central Electoral Commission from the House of Commons, while the required number in the House of Federation is 50.The notice seeking revocation of the CEC comes in the wake of mounting allegations against Kumar by opposition parties. The TMC has been demanding a dismissal notice for CEC Kumar for months West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Abhishek Banerjee, a Lok Sabha member and party national general secretary, has raised the issue several times while leading protests against the SIR process in the state in the run-up to the assembly elections. They accused the Central Election Commission of being biased and conducting the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in an arbitrary manner to help the BJP. The West Bengal chief minister said at a press conference in February that she was fully in favor of abolishing the Central Election Commission and expressed her willingness to join hands with the Congress and other opposition parties to drum up support on the issue.“We don’t have specific numbers but there is a provision on canceling the CEC. At least our position will be recorded. If they (Congress) will do such a thing, then we will also keep it secret from our party’s MPs,” she said.While there was no immediate agreement on demands from other allies, the Indian bloc took action before the budget meeting resumed on Monday. The TMC on Saturday announced that it would support the House’s motion to remove Birla even though it did not sign the opposition’s notice to remove Birla when it was submitted in the first half of the budget session, citing the hope that the opposition would first write to the Speaker before filing the notice to give him time to take corrective action.The TMC raised the issue at the India Block Strategy meeting held at the office of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday, where it reiterated its demand for submission of a notification seeking revocation of the CEC. Even as the opposition’s notice to remove the Speaker was defeated by a voice vote in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the joint opposition collected signatures from members of the House and Senate to strengthen the firm alliance of the Indian bloc against the Central Election Commission and against the Bharatiya Janata Party.The procedure for recalling the Central Electoral Commission is similar to that for the removal of Supreme Court judges and will only be based on “proven misconduct or incapacity.”Under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, once a motion for removal of a judge is approved by either House, the Speaker or the Chairman, as the case may be, shall constitute a three-member committee to investigate the grounds for removal of the judge.According to regulations, after the committee submits its report, it will be submitted to the House of Representatives and discussion of the impeachment case will begin. A motion to remove a judge (in this case the Central Electoral Commission) must be approved by both houses of Congress. It must be passed by a special majority – a majority of all members of the House of Representatives and a two-thirds majority of those present and voting.The opposition move is unlikely to succeed given that the BJP alliance has a majority in the House and Senate, but the opposition parties are allowed to file a joint protest against the Central Election Commission.