Kamal Ghorui
NEW DELHI: The opposition parties are mulling another notice in Parliament for removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar , the move coming days after their earlier plea was rejected by the Speaker of Lok Sabha and the Chairman of the RajyaSabha.Sources said key INDIA bloc parties are discussing the matter and working on a possible draft. The decision to revive the issue was based on the fact that the presiding officers of the two Houses Om Birla and CP Radhakrishnan gave reasoned orders on why the notices were being rejected. It is felt that the notices can be submitted again by rectifying the lacunae mentioned by the two Chairs.It was said that one reason for the rejection was the absence of specific instances of misdemeanour.Sources said talks are at an early stage and would take some time to mature. The bid to press against CEC Kumar appears an attempt to make a political statement in the wake of controversies surrounding the SIR in election-bound West Bengal, after similar rows erupted in other states. While there is consensus among opposition parties on the issue, Trinamool Congress has been its prime mover.
While the earlier notice was submitted in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, the opposition is still to decide if to follow the same pattern or to pick one House for the new petition. The discussion on re-petitioning against the CEC comes in the wake of the Modi govt’s defeat on the Constitution amendment bill on delimitation and women’s quota.
