The INDIA bloc has postponed its planned symbolic 'public impeachment' of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar by a day, rescheduling the programme to Saturday, October 31, after continuous rain disrupted preparations in the national capital, Power Corridors reported. PTI, cited by Dailyworld and The Hindu, reported that sources said the postponement was due to weather conditions as the lawns got muddy due to rains in New Delhi, and NDTV also reported that rain forced the postponement.
Source: Power Corridors
The programme was originally scheduled for Friday at 3.30 pm and will now be held at the same time on Saturday at Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's official residence at 10, Rajaji Marg, Power Corridors reported. This is a new development in the story Awaaz Punjab reported earlier, when the bloc finalised the October 30 event at Kharge's residence after earlier venue plans ran into permission disputes — allegations by the Congress that the government obstructed the event, which Delhi Police had denied, saying no specific request for the mock impeachment had been received.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is expected to preside over the proceedings, with Kharge moving the symbolic impeachment motion and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi delivering the concluding address, according to Power Corridors. The programme was finalised at an INDIA bloc preparatory meeting on Thursday attended by senior Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and K.C. Venugopal, besides Meira Kumar.
The proposed gathering is part of the INDIA bloc's escalating campaign against Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have accused the Election Commission of failing to address concerns over voter-list revisions and have demanded the CEC's resignation — allegations the Commission and the government have rejected. The Congress has described the exercise as a public demonstration against what it calls the erosion of electoral integrity and alleged 'vote chori'.
The symbolic proceedings carry no constitutional authority to remove the Chief Election Commissioner. Under the Constitution, a CEC can be removed only through a parliamentary process similar to that applicable to a Supreme Court judge. Saturday's event will precede a larger opposition mobilisation at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1, which the bloc has billed as a mega rally against alleged electoral irregularities.