India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
The protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar for alleged irregularities during elections will gain momentum as Congress will include his removal as a major demand during the INDIA bloc’s protest in Delhi on November 1.
The protest will be organised at Ramlila Maidan as part of the Congress’ nationwide ‘Vote Bachao Desh Bachao’ campaign to protest against alleged ‘vote chori’. The Congress has alleged discrepancies in the electoral rolls and said there are concerns with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process which could affect the right of eligible voters.
Congress plans a November 1 protest in Delhi demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal, citing alleged electoral roll discrepancies and irregularities during the Special Intensive Revision process.
“We will make it a major demand during the protest. We want to highlight the importance of transparency and fairness in elections,” Haryana Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt and state unit president Rao Narendra Singh said on Saturday.
The November 1 protest has been called the climax of the Congress ‘Delhi Chalo’ movement against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission. The party claims that at least 10 lakh people will attend the protest.
Congress Questions Election Commission’s Fairness
“The Election Commission has a constitutional mandate to ensure fairness and transparency at every stage. We are concerned because there are allegations of eligible voters being removed and discrepancies in the electoral rolls,” Sanjay Dutt said.
“The Congress believes these questions can’t be answered unless Gyanesh Kumar is removed from his position,” he added along with Rao Narendra Singh.
If the probe finds that Kumar has broken any laws or dented the democratic setup then appropriate action including arrest should take place, the leaders added.
“This ‘Vote Bachao Desh Bachao’ movement is a national movement. We are fighting to ensure people’s voting rights. We are fighting to protect our citizen’s fundamental right to vote for their government,” Dutt said.
Haryana Congress Prepares For Rally
As the protest approaches, the Haryana Congress has ramped up its efforts. Party workers have been told to take the movement to the grassroots level by gathering support from the districts, blocks, villages and polling booths.
They’ve also been told to gather evidence of discrepancies in the electoral rolls.
“The preparations for the protest have been discussed during a meeting chaired by Congress general secretary for organisation K.C. Venugopal at Indira Bhavan in New Delhi,” Sanjay Dutt told the Press Trust of India.
