Palakkad (Keralam) [India], October 6 (ANI): Communist Party of India (CPI) National Council Secretary Binoy Viswam on Tuesday hit out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar amid the Opposition’s protest against the Election Commission, calling him a “corrupt, authoritarian, anti-democratic officer”.
Viswam’s remarks came after a vigilance inquiry was ordered in Keralam against Gyanesh Kumar in connection with allegations linked to his tenure as the state’s Public Works Department Secretary in 2006.
Viswam said, “CEC is a culprit in a case registered in Kerala. It is a corruption case. A corrupt officer, an authoritarian officer, an anti-democratic officer – such an officer is Gyanesh Kumar.”
He further alleged that Kumar had made a statement regarding the Supreme Court that was subsequently taken note of by the court.
“Gyanesh Kumar is now proving that he will even tell a blatant lie about the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has taken notice of that, and that notice by the Supreme Court is important. So, we are very sure that the day will come very soon when Gyanesh Kumar will have to step down. The people of this country, and even the courts of this country, will show him the way out,” Viswam said.
Keralam Health Minister K Muralidharan on Monday clarified that the vigilance case referred to by the Opposition is not specifically against Gyanesh Kumar in his present capacity as Chief Election Commissioner, but relates to allegations dating back to his tenure as Kerala PWD Secretary.
Referring to the vigilance inquiry ordered by Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Muralidharan said the matter was based on complaints against Kumar when he served as a government secretary in the state.
“There were a lot of complaints against him when he was the government secretary in the State of Kerala. So, this time, more complaints have been raised by some important persons. Only for that reason, the government has taken the case. There is no other way,” Muralidharan told ANI.
He also rejected suggestions that the inquiry was politically motivated.
“That is not a politically motivated case. See, when he was the government secretary in Kerala, there were a lot of complaints at that time. Even the ruling party and opposition, both of them, gave so many complaints against him. So, the government has taken a case against him. This case is not against the Chief Election Commissioner; this case was against our former government secretary of Kerala,” he said.
Keralam Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had earlier directed the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to conduct an inquiry into alleged irregularities during Gyanesh Kumar’s tenure as PWD Secretary in 2006.
The matter relates to the alleged death by suicide of Malaysian civil engineer Lee See Been, who was associated with the PATI-BEL consortium involved in upgrading the MC Road under the Kerala State Transport Project.
The engineer’s alleged suicide note reportedly named Gyanesh Kumar, who was serving as PWD Secretary at the time. The fresh inquiry was initiated following allegations that the preliminary inquiry conducted in 2006 had been derailed due to external pressure.
The Keralam Home Department has sought relevant files relating to the 2006 VACB preliminary inquiry. Chennithala has directed the Vigilance Director to conduct a detailed inquiry into allegations of external influence and take appropriate action based on the findings.
The political controversy comes as INDIA bloc MPs continued their protest against the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Earlier on Tuesday, Opposition MPs marched towards Nirvachan Sadan, the headquarters of the Election Commission of India, but were stopped by barricades. The MPs subsequently staged a sit-in at the nearby Akashvani Bhavan, located around 100 metres from the poll panel’s office.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and several other Opposition MPs attempted to cross the barricades while seeking to reach the Election Commission headquarters.
Gandhi later said that the Opposition would continue its protest at Akashvani Bhavan and asked Delhi Police to provide an alternative venue if it objected to the demonstration.
“We don’t have any problem with protesting here. We will continue our protests here. If they (Delhi Police) are uncomfortable with us protesting here, they can provide us with another place to protest. The Constitution allows us to lodge a protest,” Gandhi said.
Tensions escalated after Congress workers and INDIA bloc supporters allegedly attempted to move towards Nirvachan Sadan, leading to scuffles with security personnel. Police also detained Congress cadres who had entered the Akashvani Bhavan premises.
Prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force in the area following the march. Police also directed Indian Youth Congress and NSUI workers gathered outside the building to vacate the area, warning that those refusing to comply could be detained.
Gandhi also questioned why the Election Commission was not meeting Opposition representatives.
“300 opposition MPs were removed from there, so I came here and sat. We just want to meet Gyanesh Kumar and the other election commissioners. We are all opposition MPs from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and we just want to talk to them. Don’t know why the Election Commission does not want to talk to us. Crores of people have voted for us. We just want to ask questions, but they don’t want to answer,” Gandhi said.
The Opposition’s protest is part of its broader “Save Democracy” campaign against the Election Commission and the SIR exercise.
The controversy has intensified following an Indian Express report claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi raised 14 objections during the SIR exercise. The Election Commission has maintained that its decisions were unanimous.
Opposition leaders have also questioned modifications to Form 6, used for enrolment of new voters. The Supreme Court on Monday said that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 being used for enrolment of new voters during the SIR exercise. (ANI)
Related reading
