EC row: Maharashtra Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan seeks removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, calls for probe

Maharashtra Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan has called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner CEC Gyanesh Kumar citing a news report on the functioning of the Election Commission of India ECIIn a post on X Chavan described the allegations in the report as serious and questioned the manner in which decisions were allegedly taken within the poll panelThe former Maharashtra Chief Minister claimed that the Election Commission had functioned in a manner that was contrary to the law and alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner had taken decisions on behalf of the commission without consulting the other two Election CommissionersHe referred to Article 324 of the Constitution and the Supreme Courts 1995 judgment in the T N Seshan vs Union of India case while discussing the powers and functioning of election commissionersChavan also alleged that the reported developments amounted to an abuse of power and questioned whether any political party had benefited from the alleged decisionsCalls for investigationChavan said the Election Commissions explanation that decisions were taken collectively should be examined He argued that decisions of the commission are required to be taken collectively either unanimously or by majorityHe called on the Congress to convene an urgent meeting of INDIA bloc leaders and said a delegation of Opposition leaders led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should meet the President and seek action against the Chief Election CommissionerChavan further suggested that the Supreme Court could examine the matter and seek relevant documents from the Election Commission and its senior officials ECI hellipmdash Prithviraj Chavan prithvrj September 26 2026Chavan seeks removal of CECChavan also called for the Opposition to initiate the constitutional process for the removal of the Chief Election CommissionerHe said that if other avenues failed nationwide protests should be consideredChavan concluded by saying that the issue was serious and argued that democracy would lose its meaning if elections were ldquomanagedrdquo He called for Gyanesh Kumar to be removed from officeMNS and Shiv Sena UBT plan protest march against ECMeanwhile Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS and Shiv Sena UBT led by Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray respectively will hold a mass protest march in Mumbai on October 4 against the Election Commission according to MNS chief Raj ThackerayThackeray criticised the functioning of the poll panel under Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleged that it was acting like a ldquobranch of the ruling partyrdquoThackeray alleged that voters were being subjected to ldquogross deceptionrdquo under the guise of the Special Intensive Revision SIR exerciseIn a post he appealed to political parties to join the October 4 protest saying the demonstration should become a collective voice of the political system and the publicJoint protestThe march has been organised jointly by the MNS and Shiv Sena UBT with both parties expected to mobilise their supporters for the protestThe announcement comes amid criticism from Opposition parties over the Election Commissions functioning and its handling of electoral rollrelated issuesThackeray said the October 4 demonstration would seek to highlight these concerns and bring political parties and citizens together on the issue