Congress MP Shashi Tharoor has asserted that the government of granting Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar legal immunity through a 2023 law, saying the Opposition is working on articles of impeachment and will pursue his removal if he does not resign.
In an exclusive interview with India Today TV, Tharoor linked the demand to alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. He said the Opposition wanted the exercise suspended, unlawfully deleted voters restored, and the software used in the process reviewed.
"First of all, he (Gyanesh Kumar) doesn't have constitutional protection. He has legal protection from a law passed by this BJP government towards the end of 2023 that grants him immunity," he said.
He alleged the legislation was passed during Parliament's Winter Session after the entire Opposition had been expelled from the House. "The Constitution does provide for impeachment. The Opposition is working on articles of impeachment," he said.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP urged Kumar to resign on moral grounds, questioning how the CEC could conduct credible elections when Opposition parties had lost faith in him.
"I'd better step down in the interests of our democracy. That would be the gracious thing to do," Tharoor said, describing what he believed Kumar should tell himself.
WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY ABOUT CEC'S IMMUNITY?
Section 16 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners (Appointment, Conditions of Service and Term of Office) Act, 2023, bars courts from entertaining or continuing civil or criminal proceedings against a serving or former CEC or Election Commissioner for acts connected with official duties. It does not expressly cover conduct unrelated to those functions.
The provision has been challenged in the Supreme Court. In January this year, the court issued notice to the Centre and the Election Commission but declined to stay the clause.
Article 324(5) of the Constitution provides that the CEC can be removed only in the same manner and on the same grounds as a Supreme Court judge. Other Election Commissioners cannot be removed except on the CEC's recommendation.
THAROOR ALLEGES FLAWS IN SIR
Tharoor said the Opposition wanted the SIR exercise suspended, deleted voters restored, the software reviewed and changes to Forms 6 and 7 cancelled. Form 6 is used to apply for inclusion in electoral rolls, while Form 7 is used to object to an entry or seek deletion.
He alleged the software prevented Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) from overriding deletions even when they believed voters had been wrongly removed. He also cited an Indian Express investigation into 97 cases in Goa as an example of alleged irregularities.
"Nobody is against removing dead, absent or relocated voters. I mean, that's a common-sense thing. The problem is with the methods adopted by the Election Commission, the unseemly haste with which decisions have been made to strike voters off the rolls, the incredible slowness of the review process, the appeal process," Tharoor said.
He argued that the process shifted the burden of proof onto citizens after their names were deleted.
"You are telling the voter, you prove that you deserve to vote. That's not the way our government used to work. That's not the way our system used to work," he said.
Tharoor cited the example of 94-year-old economist and Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who he said had been asked to explain why his mother was only 15 years older than him.
"You can't suddenly call that a logical discrepancy in 2026 and start knocking people off the rolls," he said, arguing that early marriages and childbirth were common in earlier generations.
He also referred to notices issued to people who had represented India abroad, questioning why their eligibility to vote was being challenged.
Questioning the scale of deletions, Tharoor said, "You can't have a world record number of 130 million people struck off the rolls and expect to retain any credibility."
He rejected the charge that the Opposition questioned electoral processes only after losing elections, arguing that complaints from voters who believed they had been wrongly excluded warranted scrutiny. He warned that delays in appeals could leave people unable to vote in multiple elections.
THAROOR ON JANTAR MANTAR'S DENOTIFICATION AS PROTEST SITE
Tharoor criticised the decision to denotify Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site, saying the new arrangements would push demonstrations away from the authorities they sought to reach. The government has designated Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as alternative sites.
"It's a shame. What the government has now done, unfortunately, is to move the sites far away from the heart of Delhi, far away from the eyes and ears of the authorities the protesters want to reach," he said.
Tharoor said Ramlila Maidan was largely booked and that the only dates he had found available that year were December 29 to 31. He argued this left protesters with options such as Burari or locations across the Yamuna.
'OPPOSITION SEEKING ELECTORAL REFORMS'
Tharoor said the Opposition's immediate objective was to restore the integrity of the electoral process and ensure a level playing field.
"The result of that should be a far more equitable, balanced, impartial, and fair Election Commission, which will conduct free and fair elections in which we will all have a level playing field," he said.
He added that the Opposition would accept the electorate's verdict if elections were conducted fairly, even if voters chose the BJP.
"If they still want to vote for the BJP, we'll honour that in a fair and free process," Tharoor said, adding that the longer-term objective was to give voters an opportunity to elect a different government and restore democratic values.
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