Brief

Actor Prakash Raj urges opposition to impeach India's chief election commissioner

Raj said the 2023 act shields the commissioner and urged a parliamentary motion and Supreme Court investigation.

By Felo News Desk · Published Tue, 29 Sep 2026 23:32:29 GMT

Actor and activist Prakash Raj called on opposition members of parliament in Mangaluru on Monday to start an impeachment process against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar during the upcoming winter session of Parliament.

Raj said the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Act, passed in 2023 after a mass suspension of opposition MPs, gives legal protection to the commissioner, limiting parliamentary scrutiny. He urged MPs of all opposition parties to move a motion to remove Kumar.

He also demanded that the Supreme Court freeze the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and set up an investigative committee to examine all decisions, rules and procedures adopted by the Election Commission since 2023. Raj warned that evidence could be lost, citing a recent fire in West Bengal that destroyed about 4,000 electronic voting machines and another incident where a file was reportedly destroyed in a fire.

“If we do not act quickly, we don’t know when there could be a fire in the Election Commission office and when a file might burn,” Raj told the media, as reported by Deccan Chronicle.

Key facts

Prakash Raj urged opposition MPs to initiate impeachment of CEC Gyanesh Kumar during the winter parliamentary session. (deccanchronicle.com)
Raj said the 2023 Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners Act provides legal protection to the commissioner. (deccanchronicle.com)
He called for a Supreme Court‑ordered freeze of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and an investigative committee. (deccanchronicle.com)
Raj referenced a recent fire in West Bengal that destroyed about 4,000 EVMs and another fire that destroyed a file. (deccanchronicle.com)