Thiruvananthapuram, 12 October

The Keralam Legislative Assembly on Monday passed a resolution seeking the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar amid a raging controversy over the SIR of electoral rolls, with top Congress leader Rahul Gandhi spearheading an aggressive agitation against the official.

The resolution, perhaps the first such in the country, was moved by Chief Minister V D Satheesan.

"The right to vote is the foundation of our democracy. No institution can be allowed to undermine the constitutional rights of our citizens. Our stand is unequivocal. The right to vote must be protected. The Constitution must be upheld. Democracy must prevail. Keralam stands firmly for free and fair elections," Satheesan said later in an X post.

"Keralam makes history. For the first time, the Keralam Legislative Assembly has passed a resolution seeking the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner. The integrity of our electoral process is non-negotiable," he added.

Earlier, while moving the resolution, the CM said there were complaints of scores of voters being removed from the electoral rolls and termed it as a clear violation of democratic values.

It contended that there were serious concerns regarding the voter roll revisions, the disenfranchisement of eligible voters, and the impartiality of the Election Commission, all of which cannot be ignored.

The resolution sought to address the alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and immediate restoration of the voting rights of all eligible voters who have been wrongfully excluded.

It also sought initiation of proceedings to remove the CEC, saying his impartiality has come under serious question in view of the serious allegations against the SIR.

Additionally, it also sought reconstitution of the Election Commissioners' selection committee to include the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India, "to ensure the independence and credibility of the institution".

After the resolution was moved, BJP's legislative party leader B B Gopakumar sought a clarification from the CM whether his election was legal.

He suggested a modification to the resolution that the 2026 state assembly be dissolved.

BJP MLA from Kazhakootam, V Muraleedharan suggested the modification that media reports regarding the two Election Commissioners indicating opposition to the SIR were later termed as "incorrect" by the poll panel.

He also suggested adding the line that attempts by interested parties to defame the EC should be condemned.

Satheesan rejected the modifications suggested by the two BJP leaders and two LDF MLAs saying that they were contrary to the content of the resolution and were made with political motives.

However, he accepted the oral modification suggested by Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Pinarayi Vijayan that the wordings 'lakhs of voters' be changed to 'crores of voters' as around 13 crore voters were allegedly deleted from the electoral roll.

The modified resolution was passed in the House by a show of hands with the BJP MLAs, including party state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, being the only ones opposing it.