New Delhi [India], October 2 (ANI): Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Friday said thousands of young people were protesting peacefully against what he described as "vote theft" on Gandhi Jayanti, and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X, Gandhi said the protesters were exercising their constitutional rights and alleged that hundreds had been taken into custody.
"Today is Gandhi Jayanti. And today, thousands of young people are on the streets against vote theft - peacefully, without violence, exercising their constitutional rights. Their demand is clear: Gyanesh Kumar must resign. Save democracy," Gandhi said.
He alleged that the response of the "Modi-Shah government" was to detain protesters.
"And the Modi-Shah government's response? Boys and girls are being dragged off the streets. Hundreds are in custody. Their only crime is that they dared to question vote theft," he said.
Gandhi invoked Mahatma Gandhi's teachings on non-violence and truth while describing the protests.
"Bapu taught us exactly this - speak the truth, fight peacefully. And that's what scares this government the most," he said.
"Because a lathi can stop a crowd, but not a question. Gyanesh Kumar will go. And the system that put him there will go too," Gandhi added.
Today, civil society groups and political organisations staged demonstrations. Activists of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other civil society organisations protested at Shivaji Park in Mumbai against the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise.
As it happened, members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), and opposition leaders gathered near Jantar Mantar to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Several opposition leaders, including AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, were detained amid prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
The opposition's campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner is expected to continue, with the INDIA bloc planning further protests, including a program on October 6 and a major rally in Delhi on November 1.
The fresh political row came after a report by The Indian Express, which claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.
The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases.
The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions. The poll panel said that operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process. ECI stated that the decisions regarding the schedule of the SIR exercise were unanimous. (ANI)
"Lathi can stop crowd, but not a question": Rahul Gandhi hits out at Centre amid protests against CEC, invokes Mahatma Gandhi
