SUNIL NEGI
New Delhi / Malappuram, 26 September 2026
Congress MP and General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra today accused the BJP leadership of fully supporting and safeguarding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, adding that whatever illegal he is doing could not be done without the patronage of the top leadership of the saffron party.
Speaking to media persons during her visit to Wayanad and Malappuram in Kerala on Saturday, Priyanka Gandhi said the INDIA bloc is united on the ECI row and demanded that the CEC should be taken to task and dealt with severely under law for treason. She also sought immediate removal of legal safeguards given to the Election Commissioners under the CEC and EC Act, 2023.
“The BJP is protecting the Chief Election Commissioner, but importantly, they are protecting their leadership. If the CEC is committing such a serious crime against democracy, it is practically impossible that he is doing it without the full support of the leadership,” Priyanka Gandhi said.
She said, “You go to the streets and see the anger of the people against the government but when elections are held the votes given in favour of BJP unambiguously reveal that the anger of the people against the ruling political dispensation is not reflected on the EVM machines.”
In a sharp escalation, Priyanka said:
“The INDIA alliance is very clear. Every single leader of the alliance, every single party is in full agreement that what is going on is absolutely illegal, anti-constitutional, and against our nation and democracy. Those who are doing it have to be taken to task. They have to be held responsible.”
“I strongly believe that the legal safeguards provided to the Election Commissioner, which this BJP-led government instituted to protect him no matter what he does, need to be removed. If anybody is committing illegal acts against our nation, against this Constitution, they need to be tried. This is treason and they need to be tried for it,” she added.
Priyanka’s remarks come days after The Indian Express reported that two Election Commissioners, Dr. Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Dr. Vivek Joshi, have formally objected at least 14 times in 10 months to unilateral decisions taken by CEC Gyanesh Kumar regarding Special Intensive Revision (SIR), centralisation of ECINet portal in the hands of DG (IT) Seema Khanna, and illegal insertion of a new column in Form 6 – “Are you or your parents/grandparents linked to SIR?” – without amending the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
Echoing Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s demand, Priyanka Gandhi also sought CEC Kumar’s resignation. “Our immediate demand is that Gyanesh Kumar should resign. The INDIA bloc is united in this demand,” she said.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal also demanded resignation and prosecution of the CEC and announced a major protest. The INDIA bloc parties are likely to meet on September 30 over the ECI dissent row.
The Election Commission has denied a split and maintained that its decisions, including SIR, were unanimous and upheld by the Supreme Court in its order dated 27.05.2026.
