New Delhi: The Congress on Sunday seized on reported remarks by Supreme Court (SC) Justice Ujjal Bhuyan on the right to vote, alleging that they expose Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s “constitutional violations” and leave him with no moral authority to remain in office.
The party said Justice Bhuyan’s comments had “exposed” Kumar “lock, stock and barrel”, and alleged that the CEC had violated the Constitution “in letter and spirit”. Congress demanded that Kumar step down, claiming he had lost the moral right to continue as the country’s top election official
"Justice Bhuyan has said much more and has exposed the CEC lock, stock, and barrel. Gyanesh Kumar has simply lost all moral right to continue in office," Jairam Ramesh wrote on X.
Now, the courageous jurist has forcefully expressed his view that the right to vote is very much part of the basic structure of the Constitution, the Congress leader said. "This conclusively proves that the CEC- the constitutional functionary himself - has violated the Constitution itself, both in letter and spirit," he wrote.
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, a sitting judge of the Supreme Court, has been an outspoken champion of environmental protection. Now the courageous jurist has forcefully expressed his view that the right to vote is very much part of the basic structure of the Constitution. This conclusively proves that the CEC—Constitutional functionary himself—has violated the Constitution itself both in letter and spirit.Justice Bhuyan has said much more and has exposed the CEC lock, stock and barrel. Gyanesh Kumar simply has lost all moral right to continue in office.https://t.co/2RWL7Jkji8
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) October 4, 2026
The Congress leader's attack on the CEC comes days after The Indian Express reported that election commissioners Sandhu and Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders on the Special Intensive Revision process that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
Under fire over red flags raised by two of its commissioners, the EC has asserted that differing views and observations are a part of deliberations in any institution and all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.
(With agency inputs from PTI)
