Kolkata: In a first, an impeachment motion against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is likely to be tabled in Parliament this week, a senior Trinamool neta said on Monday.
The draft, to be finalised within two days, will be backed by opposition parties, Trinamool functionaries said. Over the past few weeks, led by national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamool reached out to Congress, Samajwadi Party, CPM and CPI. "All parties backed the proposal. Two Trinamool MPs and a Congress MP-designate, who is also a lawyer, worked on the draft," a senior TMC neta said. "The CEC degraded the office he occupies," TMC neta added.
Opposition MPs will now collect signatures from both Houses. By rule, signatures from at least 100 Lok Sabha MPs and 50 Rajya Sabha MPs are required for the notice. The removal process for the CEC is similar to that of a Supreme Court or high court judge, requiring grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.
A motion for removal may be introduced in either House and must be passed by a special majority — a majority of the total membership and a two-thirds majority of members present and voting.
Earlier, Trinamool MPs gave notices in both Houses to discuss "voter disenfranchisement", sources said. In the Lok Sabha, Saugata Roy submitted an adjournment motion notice demanding a debate. In the Rajya Sabha, Nadimul Haque and Saket Gokhale gave notices under Rule 267.