NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha speaker and Rajya Sabha chairman have rejected the opposition’s notice for a motion for the removal of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar after a “careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved”, a move bound to deepen acrimony between the governing NDA and its opponents amid their campaign blitzkrieg for five assembly polls.As many as 130 LS and 63 RS members — more than required under rules — from opposition parties had filed the notice on March 13 in their respective Houses, seeking Kumar’s ouster for his alleged partisan and discriminatory conduct, especially in the SIR drive.An LS bulletin said, “After due consideration of the notice of motion and a careful and objective assessment of all relevant aspects and issues involved therein, the speaker (Om Birla) in exercise of powers vested to him under section 3 of the Judges (Inquiry) Act, 1968, has refused to admit the said notice of motion.”RS issued a similar bulletin on behalf of chairman C P Radhakrishnan. Though the bulletin did not specify the ground for rejection, officials said it is a common practice.The notice, signed by opposition INDIA bloc members and some other BJP rivals like AAP had the requisite support — which is at least 100 LS and 50 RS MPs.Parliament is set to meet on April 16 for three days to take up bills related to implementation of women’s reservation in LS and state assemblies from the 2029 general polls, and rejection of the opposition’s move against the CEC is expected to trigger a fresh round of clash between the two sides. While Congress’s Jairam Ramesh in a cryptic post said, “We know what happened to the last RS chairman who accepted a petition moved by opposition MPs”, TMC’s Derek O’ Brien said, “Ah! I told you so. Notice to remove CEC ‘Vanish Kumar’ by RS MPs rejected. Reason? No reason given. BJP keep mocking our great Parliament.”If opposition parties, especially TMC that was at the forefront of rallying support for the notice, raise the issue in their poll campaign to press their claim of constitutional institutions having been allegedly compromised under BJP, the governing party will flag the issue as an endorsement of CEC’s functioning from Parliament’s presiding chairs.After Congress had led a move to file a notice for Birla’s removal, which was admitted and defeated by voice vote in LS, TMC was believed to have nudged the main opposition party to join it in making a similar move against Kumar.
