New Delhi: The Opposition’s protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is set to move into a new phase on Tuesday (October 6), as INDIA bloc MPs march from Parliament to Nirvachan Sadan, the Election Commission (EC) headquarters, in New Delhi.
A total of 19 Opposition parties are taking part in the march. In a change of stance, the party has also invited its two estranged allies — the DMK and the AAP — to join the INDIA bloc’s march to the Election Commission on Tuesday and attend the Ramlila Maidan rally on November 1.
Earlier reporting noted: Congress plans nationwide stir seeking CEC’s removal; restoration of eligible voters among the 130 million deleted The Congress said on Monday it will launch a series of protests under the banner “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the restoration of the names of eligible voters among the 130 million deleted from the electoral rolls. Earlier reporting noted: From October 10 to November 26, the Congress plans to hold marches, rallies and village meetings as part of a “continuous, aggressive campaign” against Kumar. The procession began from Makar Dwar to end at the EC headquarters, where Opposition parties plan to press their demand for Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. They are also expected to meet President Droupadi Murmu to raise concerns over the exercise. Heavy security and barricades have been placed along the route ahead of the protest. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi led the discussions.
Earlier reporting noted: The party held a preparatory meeting attended by all general secretaries, in-charges and state unit chiefs.
What happens when Parliament meets?
It has 37 MPs in the Lower House. Between October 25 and November 25, Congress workers will organise ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ chaupal meetings at polling booth level. A large rally is planned at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1. The party has also planned six journeys around the national capital on November 25 and 26 under the ‘Chalo Delhi’ programme. Six leaders will lead the journeys, which are scheduled to reach the city on the Constitution Day (November 26). The Opposition is preparing to take the dispute into Parliament once the Winter Session begins after November 26. An Indian Express investigation had earlier reported at least 14 objections recorded by the two ECs over a period of 10 months. The objections related to changes in Form 6, voter deletions and restorations under SIR, appeals against restored voters in West Bengal and changes in the handling of electoral-roll software. On Monday (October 5), the Supreme Court issued notices to the Centre, the EC, Gyanesh Kumar and the two other election commissioners. The proceedings also touch on the dispute over the modified Form 6 used during SIR. The EC had said in a September 26 statement that the declaration included in Form 6 for SIR had been upheld by the Supreme Court. The apex court said on Monday that it had not approved any modified version of Form 6 and would examine the Commission’s records to determine what changes were made and who authorised them.
The Tuesday march is therefore one part of a campaign that the Congress plans to carry through the next parliamentary session.
the AAP said it will not take part in Tuesday’s march While the DMK declined the invitation. From October 10 to October 20, party workers will hold a “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” campaign at the block level. Congress leaders have also said that they plan to take the campaign to the five states scheduled to hold assembly elections in February. The EC has rejected suggestions of a split within the three-member panel and has said SIR decisions were taken unanimously. The bench declined to pass an interim order restraining Kumar and said it needed responses from the respondents before taking further action. It said that decisions taken without the required unanimity or majority could be annulled if the records establish that the statutory requirements were not followed.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav are among the leaders who have joined the procession. Akhilesh’s participation gives the protest added weight as the Samajwadi Party (SP) is the second-largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha after the Congress. The Congress had also invited the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) to join the programme. The Opposition’s campaign includes parties that have been raising objections to the SIR exercise and the EC’s handling of voter rolls. The Congress has prepared a longer programme that will continue beyond Tuesday’s march. The programme will include bicycle and motorcycle rallies, distribution of pamphlets and burning of Kumar’s effigies. The programme will then move to the booth level. Senior party leaders are expected to attend these meetings. The programme has been drawn up to keep the SIR issue active through the Winter Session of Parliament. The Congress has hinted that it will seek action against the CEC through the parliamentary process for removal from office. The demand follows allegations that some decisions related to the SIR exercise were taken by him without the concurrence of the other two Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi. The Opposition is also watching proceedings in the Supreme Court, where a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant is examining allegations related to the functioning of the EC. The petition alleges that the CEC exercised powers that belonged to the commission as a whole. The court also made clear that it would examine whether decisions were taken in accordance with the law. The court has also cautioned that it cannot act solely on the basis of a newspaper report. It wants authenticated information and responses from the concerned parties before deciding whether any statutory provision was breached. The party’s schedule takes the issue from street-level meetings and rallies to Parliament, while the top court’s proceedings will examine the legal basis of the allegations against the EC.
