Published Sep 24, 2026 | 5:12 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 24, 2026 | 5:12 PM
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra
Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday called for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to be criminally prosecuted for “treason”, accusing him of deliberately allowing an unfair electoral process by permitting the deletion of around 12 crore voters from the electoral rolls.
Speaking to reporters in Wayanad, the Congress leader said any attempt to manipulate the electoral process amounted to an attack on democracy and the Constitution.
Priyanka alleged that the deletion of such a large number of voters was a criminal act that could not be treated as a routine electoral exercise.
“Anyone who plays around with the democratic process of elections is committing treason against the nation,” she said.
Priyanka questioned the legal protection available to the CEC, arguing that such protection should not shield an election official if there was evidence of illegal conduct.
She alleged that the CEC was aware of concerns raised by colleagues over the electoral rolls but had failed to act, thereby allowing what she described as an unfair election to proceed.
“If he has done an illegal act, he should be criminally prosecuted just like any other person and tried for treason,” she said.
Priyanka maintained that those responsible for alleged tampering with electoral rolls should be held accountable under the law, irrespective of their position or office.
“Since criminal acts fall under a particular law, and people are usually tried and prosecuted for doing those criminal acts, I do not see why the Election Commissioner has to have any protection against it. If he has done an illegal act, he has been fully aware that this is happening under his nose. His colleagues (the two Election Commissioners) have brought it to his attention. He has ignored it and intentionally allowed an unfair election to take place. He should be criminally prosecuted just like any other criminal, and he should be tried for treason. This is my very clear stand,” she said.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh had on Wednesday questioned the CEC’s “integrity of purpose, impartiality of intent and independence of action”, claiming that they “have always been extremely dubious”.
Ramesh further alleged that the CEC functioned as a “hatchet man” for Union Home Minister Amit Shah, whom he described as the “designated executor” of Prime Minister Modi’s wishes.
“What the CEC has been doing is with the full knowledge, support and, in fact, at the instigation of the PM and HM themselves. Gyaneshgate has been orchestrated by G2. Of that there can be no doubt. The CEC has lost all administrative and moral right to continue in office,” Ramesh had gone on to claim.
These charges against the CEC have come after an Indian Express expose revealed that despite Gyanesh Kumar lacking powers to decide on matters in an individual capacity, the poll body repeatedly made decisions without the knowledge of, or sometimes against the recommendations of, the Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
‘Election process thoroughly compromised and vitiated’
A day later, Ramesh, on Thursday, cited the Indian Express follow-up to highlight how the Goa Chief Election Officer wrote to the Election Commission of India “8 times in 7 days for inclusion of valid voters deleted by the ECINet software”.
“Goa’s Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) had confirmed these were valid voters. The emails were ignored, and voters were deleted,” he went on to add.
He then stated:
“• The whole SIR has been handed over to this ECINet software, leading to the disastrous phase 3 of SIR, which has deleted or flagged 54% of voters in Delhi and nearly 12 Crore across all states.
• In an illegal and centralising move, EROs’ access to the ECINet software was restricted. According to the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the ERO has statutory authority over the electoral roll. The 2 ECs wrote to the Cabinet Secretary flagging this violation.
• In another illegal move, the process to add new voters through Form 6 has been made more difficult. Gen Z is being targeted for exclusion”.
“Each new piece of evidence further confirms what the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has been saying for almost two years ever since the Haryana and Maharashtra assembly election results were out. The election process has been thoroughly compromised and vitiated. This is Gyanesh Kumar implementing the Method of Disenfranchising Indians (MODI). As a first step, the CEC Gyanesh Kumar must resign immediately if he has any shred of decency and morality left in him. The PM and the HM will thereafter be held accountable for their diabolical designs,” Ramesh concluded.
The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) has also put Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on notice, demanding his resignation in the next two days.
CJP founder Abhijit Dipke, while issuing a protest call, asked: “Who is Gyanesh Kumar to revoke our right to vote?” He said the youth “should all come forward”, while threatening to hold a nationwide agitation if the demand is not met, including a Jantar Mantar 2.0.
Dipke also called for a criminal prosecution of the CEC, while stating a three-point demand charter:
“Demand 1: Initiation of criminal proceedings against Gyanesh immediately, and an answer to the question: Who gave him the orders?
Demand 2: Put all upcoming elections on hold. Freeze the SIR and restore the January 2025 voter list. Set up an independent inquiry into the entire SIR decision-making process. We also demand that the Supreme Court immediately take custody of all SIR-related files to ensure no records are destroyed, altered or go missing.
Demand 3: Repeal the 2023 law on the appointment of the Election Commissioners of India and enact a new law that inspires public confidence, with the active participation of members of civil society.”
Also Read:
Behind Bengaluru’s 24 lakh SIR notices: Old rolls, shifting homes and a scramble for documents
Data shows SIR helped BJP win West Bengal
(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
