New Delhi [India], September 28 (ANI): Protests by the Congress and some other opposition parties for resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar continued on Monday with leaders questioning the way decisions had been taken concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters lists and the process of addition and deletion of voters.
Congress units held protest in some state capitals and also in some districts.
In the national capital, Indian Youth Congress workers, led by the organisation's chief Uday Bhanu Chib, staged a protest.
In an X post, IYC said Gyanesh Kumar will face the law. “…Hide anywhere from the BJP office to wherever.. But you will have to go to jail," it added.
Congress workers also staged protest in Uttarakhand. At many places, Congress workers also burnt effigies of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Assam Congress leaders staged a protest at the Manbendra Sarma Complex in Guwahati over “vote chori” allegations and protested against Gyanesh Kumar.
Congress workers in Malappuram in Kerala organised a march to the district collectorate and demanded resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.
Protesters raised slogans against the BJP-led government.
Congress workers protested outside the Collector’s office in Surat in Gujarat, alleging irregularities by the Election Commission. They demanded resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. Police detained the protesters.
Congress workers in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh also staged protests.
In Jaipur, Rajasthan Police resorted to water cannons to deal with protestors.
Madhya Pradesh Congress president Jitu Patwari said people had doubts over the way elections are being conducted.
"When Prime Minister Modi became Prime Minister for the first time, we accepted that there might have been some shortcomings on our part. The Constitution became a topic of discussion during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The BJP lost 70 seats in the process, and the atmosphere was not in their favour; yet, they formed the government,” he said.
In Telangana, State Congress president Mahesh Kumar Goud, along with party leaders, held protest march from the Indira Gandhi statue to the Election Commission office in Hyderabad.
Telangana Minister Mohammed Azharuddin told ANI, "We have protested, demanding the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation. He is not working for the country but for the government. We have given a memorandum stating that he (CEC) has to resign."
Congress MP from Telangana, Anil Kumar Yadav, said that Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi had alleged a link between Kumar and BJP.
"Our leader Rahul Gandhi has been saying from the beginning that the Election Commission has been compromised. Gyanesh Kumar has become a puppet of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Rahul Gandhi had said in Parliament that the whole country was discussing that the Election Commission has been compromised. Today the public also knows; the whole country knows how vote theft is happening. We demand that Gyanesh Kumar immediately step down; they should be an inquiry against him," he said.
Congress MP Pawan Khera joined the protest in Srinagar and accused Kumar of deceiving the nation.
"CEC deceived this country; election mandates are being stolen. SIR is completely illegal. For an amendment to Form 6, it needs to be brought to Parliament. But it wasn't done. So, SIR becomes illegal. If SIR is illegal, all additions and deletions are illegal...There is outrage across the country. Everyone wants to protest. Gyanesh Kumar should be sacked to save the country," he said.
Left parties staged a protest against Gyanesh Kumar in Patna.
Opposition parties including the Congress, CPI, CPI(M), Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) have also called for Kumar's resignation.
Indian Express had reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months on decisions and orders related to the SIR process and other electoral matters. The reported disagreements included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.
The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions. The poll panel said operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process.
The Commission maintained that all decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of all three commissioners.
Earlier in the day, Union Minister JP Nadda accused the Opposition of misleading the public and attempting to create confusion over the EC.
“Now, the Election Commission has exposed all the lies,” Nadda said, adding that Rahul Gandhi and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal “make allegations and walk away” without concern for public interest.
Nadda also said that repeating a lie multiple times did not make it true.“Rahul Gandhi, listen carefully—repeating a lie a hundred times does not make it the truth, and the truth can never be defeated,” he said. (ANI)
Congress continues nationwide protests, mounts pressure for resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
