Kharge Demands Modi's Resignation, CEC's Removal Over Voter Roll Row

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, amid a continuing row over the Election Commission's handling of internal operations and allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft).

Addressing a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Kharge accused the Election Commission of withholding critical information about electoral rolls and the poll process. He said the party would raise the matter in Parliament and take to the streets if required.

"The entire nation is now aware that the CEC's consistent efforts have been aimed at benefiting the ruling party," Kharge said at the meeting.

CEC accused of favouring ruling party

Kharge alleged that the Chief Election Commissioner had become a "puppet" of the Modi government and that his actions had benefited the ruling BJP. He claimed the two other Election Commissioners had described some of the CEC's decisions as "arbitrary and unreasonable".

"The entire nation now knows that he has been trying to help the ruling party. In such a situation, he does not have the right to be in his position and should be removed immediately," he said.

He further alleged that the CEC had acted under pressure from the Prime Minister, and said Modi should resign on moral grounds.

Five demands on electoral rolls

In a post on X, Kharge alleged that democratic institutions built by India's freedom fighters had been systematically hollowed out by the Modi government over the past 12 years. He accused the government of using conspiratorial means to remove names from electoral rolls.

The Congress chief listed five demands: complete data on every major change in the voter list must be made public; voters whose names have been removed must be given full information and an opportunity to appeal; political parties must receive the voter list and related essential data in a simple format in a timely manner; evidence of serious discrepancies must trigger an independent, time-bound investigation; and critical data and decisions related to the election process must be transparent enough that no party can claim information is being hidden.

Kharge said greater transparency was needed so that no political party could allege that information was being withheld. "This goes against the very thinking and spirit of Indian democracy, under which it was decided that every eligible citizen's vote must be secure and every vote must be counted fairly," he wrote.

Party to press issue in Parliament

Kharge said the Congress would continue to press for transparency in electoral rolls and ensure the poll process remains impartial. "We should take a pledge at the CWC meeting that there should be transparency in electoral rolls and the poll process should be impartial. Institutions should be independent and the vote of every Indian should be protected," he said.

He also thanked party leaders and workers for backing Rahul Gandhi, who has repeatedly raised allegations of irregularities in the electoral rolls and questioned the role of the Election Commission. "I would like to congratulate Rahul Gandhi Ji because the issues he raised first have proven to be factually correct. The people of the country are acknowledging this," Kharge said in his post.