Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday, 29 September 2026, demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of functioning as a 'puppet' of the Central government and undermining the constitutional independence of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The demand was made at the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in New Delhi, convened to finalise the party's strategy on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

What Kharge Said at the CWC Meeting

Addressing senior party leaders, Kharge declared that Chief Election Commissioner Kumar had 'no right to remain in his position' and must be removed forthwith. He further alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi — under whose pressure he claimed Kumar acted — should also resign on moral grounds.

Kharge alleged that voter names were being deleted from electoral rolls arbitrarily, citing what he described as instructions from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Modi government. 'People's names are being removed from voter lists through conspiracy, and the Chief Election Commissioner has become a puppet of the Modi government,' he said.

The SIR Controversy and Electoral Roll Concerns

The CWC meeting centred on the Congress party's response to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voter lists, which the party contends is being conducted in a non-transparent manner. Kharge questioned why two Election Commissioners were allegedly excluded from an internal portal related to the SIR process, alleging that something 'confidential' was being concealed.

He claimed that his colleague Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had earlier raised specific concerns — including duplicate voters, doubtful addresses, large numbers of voters registered at a single address, and suspicious Form-6 entries — that the Election Commission had not addressed with adequate seriousness. Kharge argued that had the CEC acted on those concerns, 'his credibility would have been preserved.'

Notably, Kharge also alleged that the government had quietly changed the rules for Form 6 — the form used by first-time voters to register — calling it 'completely illegal' and targeting young voters. He invoked the legacy of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who in December 1988 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, to contrast what he characterised as the current government's alleged effort to disenfranchise youth.

Invoking Ambedkar and the Constitution

Kharge drew extensively on the foundational arguments of Dr B.R. Ambedkar in the Constituent Assembly, where Ambedkar had described voting rights as 'the most fundamental thing in democracy.' He alleged that the present government's actions violated the constitutional spirit Ambedkar and Jawaharlal Nehru had sought to enshrine.

'Baba Saheb had said that names will not be deleted at the whim of any officer. Today, officers are arbitrarily deleting names at the behest of the BJP and Modi government,' Kharge said. He stressed that the right to vote for poor, Dalit, and marginalised citizens was the cornerstone of Indian democracy.

Congress Places Five Demands Before Government and ECI

The CWC formalised five demands directed at both the Centre and the Election Commission. These include: making complete data on every major change to the voter list publicly available; providing voters whose names have been removed with full information and an opportunity to appeal; ensuring timely access to voter lists for political parties in a usable format; ordering independent and timely investigations where serious discrepancies emerge; and ensuring that critical electoral data and decisions are transparent enough to prevent allegations of concealment.

Kharge also called on party workers to take a pledge to protect the transparency of voter lists, the fairness of elections, and the independence of constitutional institutions, saying Congress would pursue the fight 'from the streets to Parliament.'

What Comes Next

The Congress demand for the CEC's removal is unlikely to be acted upon by the Centre in the near term, but it signals an escalation of the party's electoral-integrity campaign ahead of assembly elections in five states. The ECI has not yet formally responded to the specific allegations raised at the CWC meeting. With the SIR process still ongoing and the Opposition sharpening its legal and political challenge, the dispute over electoral roll integrity is set to intensify in the weeks ahead.