Congress Demands CEC Resignation Amid Special Session Dispute

The Indian National Congress has rejected a challenge from Union Home Minister Amit Shah to debate the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in a special session of Parliament. The party is demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the suspension of the SIR exercise as prerequisites for any such session.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused the government of intentionally delaying the prorogation of Parliament for 82 days following the Monsoon Session. Ramesh alleged that Amit Shah intends to use a special session to pass Delimitation Bills designed to protect the Bharatiya Janata Party from electoral losses in 2029.

In response, Amit Shah accused the Congress of protecting Bangladeshi infiltrators on electoral rolls and claimed that Rahul Gandhi does not respect the Constitution. The Janata Dal (United) supported the government's position, urging Rahul Gandhi to accept the debate and labeling his refusal as an anarchic approach, noting that the Supreme Court had affirmed the Election Commission's jurisdiction to conduct the SIR in Bihar.

Parallel to the legislative dispute, Rahul Gandhi accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of maintaining power through foreign assistance. Shah dismissed a recent INDIA bloc rally as a save infiltrator rally and questioned the Congress's criticism of Electronic Voting Machines following their own state-level victories.