Thiruvananthapuram: CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam said the alleged BJP allegiance of chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar had been fully exposed following revelations by former chief secretary Jiji Thomson.Viswam alleged that Kumar had offered to make Thomson a minister if he joined the BJP while the latter was serving as the state chief secretary. “That the chief election commissioner of India is a person willing to stoop to any level to serve the communal party in power is a wound inflicted on the heart of democracy,” Viswam said.According to Viswam, Kumar’s appointment as CEC was a reward from his “masters” for the alleged manoeuvres he had carried out for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and home minister Amit Shah.He said Kumar had acted in a manner that even his fellow election commissioners could not tolerate. “Every democrat in India has realised that elections can never be free and fair under such a person. If Kumar has even the slightest respect for the Constitution, he should resign immediately. Otherwise, he will be forced to step down in the face of mounting public anger,” Viswam said.He added that the growing unity among opposition parties in India was a clear indication of this. “Following Kumar, electronic voting machines, too, will have to exit Indian democracy,” Viswam said.
