Chennai,Ā Sept 23:
Toeing the line of estranged ally, the Congress which had quit the front leading to largescale post-poll desertions, opposition DMK President M.K.Stalin on Wednesday demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) C.Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) expose, saying the credibility of the apex institution that was expected to function independently, transparently and without political interference has been seriously compromised, while demanding a fair and thorough probe into it.
Upping its ante over the poll body, the Congress, citing reported dissent in ECI, has revived the demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s removal in the wake of reported written objections by two of the three ECs Commissioners to decisions concerning electoral rolls and said it amounted to division within the three-member panel had vindicated the oft-repeated concerns raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition parties over the functioning of the poll panel.
Congress said “the Vote Chori and SIR that Shri Rahul Gandhi has continuously exposed before the country are now proving to be correct and this is tampering with democracy, while reviving the Opposition’s demand for action on its April 24 motion seeking the removal of Gyanesh Kumar, which was pending. A total of 73 Opposition Rajya Sabha MPs had submitted a fresh Notice of Motion to the Secretary General on April 24, 2026, seeking Kumar’s removal, and sought to know whether Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan would now decide on the pending notice.
Meanwhile, Stalin, echoing similar views, cited a newspaper expose, said “CEC Gyanesh Kumar Must Go: He Has No Right to Continue in Office!. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, along with other Opposition parties, has consistently opposed the move to delete crores of voters from the electoral rolls in the name of SIR. Rushed through just months ahead of elections in State after State, the exercise was riddled with irregularities and sparked widespread unrest, particularly in West Bengal.
The DMK demands a fair and thorough investigation into everything that has transpired within the Election Commission and that those responsible be held accountable, he said.
In a lengthy statement, he said the explosive findings published by a newspaper today, backed by evidence, have now cast serious doubts over the results of every Assembly election held after the SIR exercise. The investigation reveals that the CEC had been acting unilaterally and in secrecy, without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek JoshiĀ Even more alarming is the revelation that the duo were kept in the dark about crucial decisions being taken within the very institution they jointly oversee.