The Congress and the INDIA bloc have renewed their campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, renaming their planned ‘Mock Parliament’ event as ‘People’s Impeachment’ and giving it a fresh format. Congress leaders in a media interaction emphasized they wanted to avoid any action that could be later flagged as contempt of Parliament.
The ‘People’s Impeachment’ event will be held at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s residence on Friday, with a symbolic motion seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Earlier on Friday, INDIA bloc leaders met to discuss the campaign. The meeting saw the participation of former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, Nasir Hussain, Manickam Tagore and Pawan Khera. Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, Mahua Maji of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and Harendra Malik of the Samajwadi Party also joined the discussions.
The INDIA bloc had initially planned to recreate a parliamentary session, with government and opposition representatives seated opposing each other. With the discussions held under the supervision of a presiding officer. The proposed format has since been changed.
Sources familiar with the arrangements said Meira Kumar would oversee the proceedings of the ‘People’s Impeachment’. A Samajwadi Party MP, whose identity has not yet been disclosed, is expected to assist her.
The proceedings will begin at 3 pm and continue until 7.30 pm. The arguments for the symbolic impeachment will be initiated by Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with Ghulam Nabi, as outlined in the event plan.
Leaders from 19 political parties will be allowed to speak for five minutes each. The Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress have reportedly been allotted an additional five minutes each.
Individuals whose names have been removed from the electoral rolls will also be given an opportunity to speak. Three civil society representatives will be among the speakers, taking the total number of speakers to around 30.
The campaign will focus on the removal of names from electoral rolls and the process conducted by the Election Commission. The Congress has cited figures concerning the number of voters affected, with the latest figure mentioned by the party reportedly standing at 16.5 crore, compared with an earlier figure of 13.5 crore.
The Congress and the INDIA bloc will livestream the ‘People’s Impeachment’ on their YouTube channels and other social media platforms. The event will conclude with the national anthem, ‘Jana Gana Mana’.