SRINAGAR, Sept 25: Noisy scenes were witnessed in the Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Friday as Congress MLAs protested against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, raising slogans and displaying banners during the opening of proceedings.
Congress legislators Nizamuddin Bhat, Irfan Hafiz Lone and Iftikhar Ahmad stood up soon after the House assembled and raised slogans against the CEC. They displayed banners carrying messages including “Protect the vote, protect the democracy” and “No democracy without fair elections”.
“This is an attack on democracy,” Lone said, while Bhat urged Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather to allow the Congress members to be heard.
The Speaker, however, disallowed the protest and asked the members to take their seats.
As the Congress MLAs continued their protest and attempted to move into the well of the House, the Speaker warned them of action. The members also demanded the resignation and arrest of Kumar.
The Speaker told the protesting members that the Election Commission of India “is not in our control”.
The Congress MLAs later returned to their seats, following which Question Hour proceeded.
Congress and other opposition parties have been protesting against the CEC following an Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had, according to the report, raised objections on record at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge, while the national rollout of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was under the supervision of the full commission.
The reported objections related to amendments to statutory voter registration Form 6, the handling of additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control of the electoral roll database.
Amid criticism over the reported objections, the Election Commission on Wednesday said differing views and observations were a normal part of institutional deliberations and asserted that all its orders carried full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures.
The poll panel also said that all three Election Commissioners, as well as every EC officer, were authorised to offer suggestions for improving the electoral system. (Agencies)