Seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar, Kerala Assembly to move resolution today

As per the bulletin of the Legislative Assembly, the resolution will be moved by Chief Minister V D Satheesan. (File Photo)

The Congress government in Keralam will present a resolution in the state Assembly on Monday, urging the Union government to remove Gyanesh Kumar as the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC).

With this, Keralam Assembly will become the first in the country to bring a resolution seeking the removal of the CEC.

As per the bulletin of the Legislative Assembly, the resolution will be moved by Chief Minister V D Satheesan.

In September last year, the state Assembly had passed a resolution, moved by the then Left Democratic Front (LDF) regime, against rolling out the SIR.

The second session of the 16th Legislative Assembly will begin on Monday.

Apart from seeking removal of the CEC, the resolution to be presented in the Assembly would demand that voting rights of all eligible voters, who have been removed from the electoral rolls, be reinstated after rectifying the anomalies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

The third demand would be the reconstitution of the committee for selecting Election Commissioners by including the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in it.

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In the 140-strong assembly, Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) has 102 members while the CPI(M)-led LDF has 35 MLAs. The BJP has three legislators.
With the Congress and the CPI(M) being part of the national campaign and the ongoing protest seeking removal of the CEC, the resolution is expected to be passed in the Assembly.

In the past, there have been several instances in which the Keralam Assembly had passed resolutions unanimously, with the backing of the CPI (M) and the Congress.

The resolution said as serious doubts are being raised over the Commission’s impartiality, it is inevitable to take steps to remove the CEC to restore the credibility of the Commission. “Robbing off the voting rights of minorities, migrants, marginalised sections and the young through technical manipulation and irregularities is a violation of democratic principles,” it added.

Although the resolution said lakhs of eligible voters have been removed under the “guise” of SIR, it had not made any specific reference to Keralam, where the last Assembly elections were held after the process.

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Neither the Congress nor the CPI(M) had raised allegations about removal of eligible voters from the electoral rolls in the state during the SIR process.

2025 resolution

Last September, the then CPI (M) government moved a resolution that was passed unanimously in the state Legislative Assembly, urging the Election Commission to drop its decision to roll out SIR across the country.

The resolution was moved by then CM Pinarayi Vijayan under rule 118 of the Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Assembly. That made the Keralam Assembly the first in the country to bring a resolution against SIR.

The resolution said the Election Commission’s move had raised serious concern that the SIR was aimed at implementing the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in an indirect way.

Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala. With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India. Expertise, Experience, and Authority Decades of Regional Specialization: Shaju has spent more than two decades documenting the "Kerala Model" of development, its complex communal dynamics, and its high-stakes political environment. Key Coverage Beats: His extensive reporting portfolio includes: Political & Governance Analysis: In-depth tracking of the LDF and UDF coalitions, the growth of the BJP in the state, and the intricate workings of the Kerala administration. Crime & Investigative Journalism: Noted for his coverage of high-profile cases such as the gold smuggling probe, political killings, and the state’s counter-terrorism efforts regarding radicalization modules. Crisis Management: He has led ground-level reporting during major regional crises, including the devastating 2018 floods, the Nipah virus outbreaks, and the Covid-19 pandemic response. ... Read More