Mumbai, March 13 (IANS) Former Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole ignited fresh controversy on Friday by making disparaging remarks against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and likening him to a fourth-class employee, subservient to the Prime Minister and the government.

The ‘bizarre’ claim is understood to have raised hackles within the BJP camp, though the latter is yet to respond.

Patole’s objectionable slur at the CEC comes close on the heels of Opposition parties submitting 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 a motive to benefit the ruling party in the upcoming Assembly elections.

Speaking to newsmen, he stated that the Opposition parties were justified in seeking his ouster 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 on the back of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) moving an impeachment motion against the Chief Election Commissioner. TMC has reportedly submitted two notices in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking his ouster, with about 120 members and 60 members signing the motion, respectively.

The notice against 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 ‘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 pain 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 government take accountability for the same. They held the government responsible for ‘black marketing and hoarding’ of gas cylinders.

–IANS

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