Mumbai, March 13 – Former Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole sparked a fresh controversy on Friday by making disparaging remarks against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, comparing him to a fourth-class employee who is subservient to the Prime Minister and the government.
The "bizarre" claim has reportedly caused concern within the BJP camp, although the latter has yet to respond.
Patole's offensive remarks against the CEC came shortly after opposition parties submitted a notice to move an impeachment motion against him, seeking his removal.
The Congress leader alleged that CEC Gyanesh Kumar was working under the aegis of the Central government with the intention of benefiting the ruling party in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Speaking to reporters, he stated that the opposition parties were justified in seeking his removal from the post, as he has been working in tandem with the ruling party to damage and destroy the democratic fabric of the nation.
Patole's remarks come in the wake of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) moving an impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner. The TMC reportedly submitted two notices in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking his removal, with approximately 120 and 60 members respectively signing the motion.
The notice against the CEC allegedly lists seven charges against him, ranging from "partisan conduct to mass disenfranchisement, as under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR)."
Patole, pointing to the "high-handedness" and opaqueness under the incumbent CEC, claimed, "It was during Rajiv Gandhi's tenure that the Election Commission was given autonomous status, but with people like him at the helm, the institution's authenticity and credibility is being withered away."
Patole's direct attack on the CEC came during a demonstration against the LPG shortages in the city. He, along with other Congress leaders, were protesting with LPG cut-outs, to raise the plight of common people as well as small businessmen.
They claimed that various restaurants and eating outlets were staring at closure due to the LPG crisis and demanded that the government take responsibility for the same. They held the government responsible for "black marketing and hoarding" of gas cylinders.