Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is facing a lot of backlash on social media, following the Indian Express investigation around the SIR controversy. RPG Group Chairman Harsh Goenka has taken a snide jibe at Kumar, saying that the nation was waiting for “Gyanesh Visarjan.”
In a post on X, Goenka wrote, “Mumbai is celebrating Ganesh Visarjan. Some in the nation seem to be waiting for Gyanesh Visarjan.” Referring to the fervour of Ganesh Visarjan festivities, Goenka jibed that Gyanesh Kumar was under fire.
Swiftly in response, Congress spokesperson Reetam Singh remarked that last time Goenka made such jokes, the government changed in the subsequent general elections. He wrote on X, “Last time Harsh Goenka was cracking such jokes, the Government changed in the Centre in 2014. De ja vú!”
The Election Commission has denied reports that CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s scheduled visits to Meerut and Varanasi were cancelled due to the ongoing SIR controversy. Kumar was scheduled to visit Meerut today, where he was to attend an ELC 2.0 and ECI-Net regional conference and interact with students and young voters. A similar youth interaction with Gen-Z was scheduled in Varanasi on September 28.
Both programmes have now been postponed.
Sources within the EC told Times Now that the decision to postpone the visits was taken on September 21 and the programmes were not cancelled suddenly. The sources said such programmes are routinely rescheduled because of logistical requirements, local conditions and changes in the CEC’s official travel schedule.
The ECI has cited similar changes to other youth outreach programmes in recent months. According to officials, a planned programme in Himachal Pradesh was deferred because of the tourist season and examinations. In Uttarakhand, the youth interaction is now expected to be held after completion of the SIR exercise. A programme in Ladakh was also postponed in view of the Mansarovar-related disaster, officials said.