Meira Kumar to chair INDIA bloc's symbolic 'impeachment' of CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Oct 30

Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar will chair a symbolic "public impeachment" of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on October 30, according to sources who spoke after INDIA bloc leaders met on Thursday. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will move the 'motion', and Rahul Gandhi will make the concluding remarks before it is adopted.

The meeting took place at Kharge's residence in Delhi, where leaders worked out the final format. Those present included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal of the Congress, along with TMC's Derek O'Brien, the Samajwadi Party's Harendra Malik, JMM's Mahua Maji and CPI(M)'s John Brittas. Congress communications head Pawan Khera said most bloc leaders attended and went through each step of the proceedings.

The exercise is a protest, not a constitutional process. It is built around the opposition's "vote chori" (vote theft) allegation, and the mock setting at Kharge's home is meant to show a united front across parties rather than to remove anyone from office.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Kharge said the protest would go on because of what he called the CEC's "vote theft and mischief". He said all parties backed the effort, pointing to a mock Parliament planned for Friday and a rally on November 1 that would draw people from across the country. "In a democracy, if you don't fight, people will not be awakened," he said.

Why it matters: with a string of events lined up in quick succession, the opposition is trying to keep election-integrity concerns in the news and show coordination among bloc partners. Choosing Meira Kumar, a respected former Speaker, to preside also lends the mock proceeding a parliamentary gravitas. How far it shifts public opinion remains to be seen.

Read the original report: Daily Pioneer.

Related: Election Commission and RBI: Why Autonomy Is Not the Same as Technocracy · Jan Suraaj declared Rs 101 crore income in FY25 but spent just Rs 9.2 crore: ADR