Chandigarh: The Punjab assembly on Friday passed a resolution expressing concern over incidents of citizens allegedly being deprived of their right to vote, demanding an “independent, impartial, and credible” investigative mechanism to probe alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and voter deletions under Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.The resolution, moved by finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, expressed concern over the functioning of the Election Commission and accused the CEC of “tearing apart the Constitution” and acting to deprive Indian citizens of their fundamental democratic right to vote.In the absence of BJP MLAs, the Punjab govt claimed that the resolution was passed “unanimously” by voice vote. Congress MLAs had staged a walkout earlier during the sitting. Two rebel Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) MLAs—Manpreet Singh Ayali and Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi—along with BSP MLA Nacchatar Pal, supported the resolution.Speaking on the resolution, chief minister Bhagwant Mann termed it a “serious concern for democracy” that the govt is now deciding who gets to vote, reversing the democratic norm where citizens elect their govt. He further alleged that over 14 crore votes were arbitrarily deleted during the special intensive revision (SIR) process without providing any justification.Cheema alleged that during the last Delhi elections, over 40,000 votes in AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal’s constituency were deleted, which resulted in him losing the election. “The BJP indulged in ‘vote chori’ through the EC to come to power in Delhi. The same strategy was subsequently used in Bihar and West Bengal,” he alleged.Invoking Articles 324, 325 and 326 of the Constitution—which guarantee adult suffrage, non-discrimination in voter list preparation, and the supervision of the electoral process—the resolution emphasised that democracy is built on equality, justice and the sovereignty of the people. Expressing concern over nationwide complaints regarding the large-scale deletion of eligible citizens’ names from electoral rolls, the House questioned the “transparency, impartiality, and accountability” of the EC.Through the resolution, the House expressed concern over citizens allegedly being deprived of their right to vote and demanded that constitutional protection of the voting rights of eligible citizens be ensured. Second, it called for the setting up of an independent, impartial and credible investigative mechanism to inquire into alleged irregularities in the electoral process and voter roll revisions under CEC Gyanesh Kumar, aiming to fix accountability.Copies of the resolution are being dispatched to President, Prime Minister and the CEC for necessary action.
