New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said on Thursday that any fresh motion seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar will be examined in accordance with parliamentary rules and procedures, as opposition parties step up protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Source: Mirror Now
"If any fresh notice comes, we will see and examine it accordingly under rules and procedures," Birla told a press conference in New Delhi on 22 October, according to The Business Standard's report of the briefing. He was speaking ahead of the 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum, which India will host on 26-27 October.
Source: The Business Standard (TBS News)
Two earlier attempts by the Opposition
Opposition parties have twice sought Kumar's removal. Notices in the first attempt were rejected by both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, while notices from the second attempt remain pending in the Rajya Sabha, the reports said. The Opposition has alleged irregularities in the SIR and has also approached President Droupadi Murmu seeking Kumar's removal — those are the Opposition's allegations, not established findings.
The latest push followed a report in The Indian Express, cited by TBS, that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally objected at least 14 times over the past 10 months to SIR-related decisions and orders, alleging they were issued without their knowledge or recommendation. That claim is reported as an allegation in the source reports.
How a CEC can be removed
Under the Constitution and the law governing the CEC's appointment, the Chief Election Commissioner can be removed only through a process similar to the removal of a Supreme Court judge. If a motion is admitted, a three-member committee — a Supreme Court judge or the Chief Justice of India, a High Court chief justice and a distinguished jurist — investigates under the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968. Removal then requires, in the same session, a majority of the total membership of each House and two-thirds of members present and voting.
Birla gave no endorsement or rejection of any new motion, keeping his remarks procedural: the process laid down in law will be followed when and if a motion is moved.