Thiruvananthapuram: CPM general secretary M A Baby on Saturday demanded that chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar be impeached by Parliament, alleging that he had failed to uphold the responsibilities of his office and misused his position to benefit the BJP-led govt at Centre.Addressing a news conference at the AKG Centre here, Baby said the days of the Narendra Modi govt were numbered. He said the alleged testimonies by Kumar’s colleagues had lent credence to allegations that he lacked the neutrality demanded by his position.“It is now clear how the CEC has been working for the benefit of his political masters. Public should rise against attempts to undermine democracy as envisioned in the Indian Constitution,” he said.Baby said Election Commission had rendered yeoman service in the past by strengthening public participation in elections and encouraging more people to exercise their franchise in choosing the govt. However, he alleged that the commission had now abandoned this approach and was seeking to eliminate the maximum number of people from the electoral rolls.“Thirteen crore people have been removed from the electoral rolls. The attempt was to remove people who are unlikely to vote in favour of the BJP. The arduous task of proving one’s right to vote has become the responsibility of individual citizens. This is unacceptable,” Baby said.He added that he, too, had to undergo the cumbersome process of ensuring that his name remained on the electoral roll in Thiruvananthapuram.Baby said leaders of the Left parties — CPM, CPI, RSP, CPI(ML) and Forward Bloc — had decided to stand together in protests against Gyanesh Kumar and the BJP. He claimed that the protests would gain momentum in the coming days.He said the Left parties also decided to reach out to non-political organisations and civil society groups as part of their fight against the BJP govt.
