New Delhi: Opposition parties on Friday submitted a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha seeking to move a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said.
The opposition’s fresh charges on Kumar’s “proved misbehaviour” include “continued partisan asymmetry in the enforcement of Model Code of Conduct”, including the poll panel’s failure to act on complaints against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “address to the nation” on April 18.
According to sources, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and TMC leader Sagarika Ghose submitted the notice to the Rajya Sabha Secretary General.
“In the Rajya Sabha, 73 opposition MPs have just submitted a new notice of motion to their Secretary General to present an addressed resolution to the President of India, urging the removal from office of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar,” Ramesh said on X.
“This demand is based on proven misconduct arising from his actions and errors committed on March 15, 2026 and thereafter, which falls under Article 324(5) of the Constitution of India when read with Article 124(4), as well as Section 11(2) of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968,” he said.
The Congress leader said there are now nine specific charges against the CEC, which have been recorded in “extreme detail” and which cannot be “denied or suppressed”.
“His continued hold on the position is an assault on the Constitution. It is utterly shameful that this individual remains in office, so that he can continue to act on the directions of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,” Ramesh said.
The notice calls for an address to the President for Kumar’s removal, invoking provisions of the Constitution, the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, and the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968.
The MPs have cited a series of alleged actions and omissions by the CEC, which they claim cumulatively amount to misconduct of a “grave character”. These include alleged partisan enforcement of the model code of conduct, public remarks and social media communication targeting a political party, administrative lapses, and conduct deemed “unbecoming” of a constitutional authority.
Among the key allegations are claims of inaction over complaints related to a televised address by the prime minister on April 18, as the Model Code of Conduct was in force ahead of elections in some states.
Referring to complaints by political parties and concerned citizens, it said, “As on the date of this notice, Gyanesh Kumar has issued no show-cause notice, no advisory, and no public response to any of the said complaints.”
It said this is in “stark contrast” to the “alacrity of action in respect of analogous complaints filed by the Bharatiya Janata Party against opposition leaders”.
The notice mentions the poll panel’s post on microblogging platform X on April 8 following a meeting with a delegation of TMC leaders, where it claimed it gave a “straight talk” to the party. The notice says it was the first occasion in the constitutional history of India when an official communication channel of a constitutional body “publicly named and denigrated” a recognised political party engaged in an ongoing electoral contest.
Mentioning the TMC’s charge that Kumar asked them to “get lost” when the party delegation had gone to meet the full bench of the Election Commission, the notice alleges that the CEC’s conduct is “unbecoming” of a constitutional functionary.
The charges also include a reported incident involving the use of the BJP state unit’s seal on an official document in Kerala.
It further raises serious concerns over the handling of electoral roll revisions, especially in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, alleging large-scale deletion of voters and the use of questionable criteria, calling it “mass disenfranchisement”.
Additionally, the MPs have raised concerns over the transfer and posting of bureaucrats in poll-bound states, alleging that these actions exceeded the constitutional mandate of the Election Commission.
Members of opposition parties such as the Congress, TMC, SP, DMK, Left parties, Shiv Sena (UBT), NCP (SP), RJD, IUML and “like -minded” parties have signed the notice, sources said.
The move comes days after similar notices submitted by opposition MPs in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were rejected by the respective presiding officers. It was the first time that a notice seeking the removal of a CEC was submitted in Parliament.
In its earlier notices, the opposition had accused CEC Kumar of “failure to maintain independence and constitutional fidelity” and of acting under the “thumb of the executive”.
However, in almost similar responses, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan had rejected the notices, holding that even if the allegations were assumed to be true, they did not meet the high constitutional threshold of “misbehaviour” required for his removal.
The opposition urged the Rajya Sabha chairman to admit the notice and constitute a three-member inquiry committee to investigate the charges against Kumar. It further sought Kumar’s recusal from election-related duties pending the outcome of the inquiry.
If admitted and subsequently approved by both Houses of Parliament with the required special majority, the motion could lead to Kumar’s removal from the post of CEC.
