New Delhi [India], October 5 (ANI): Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday stated that the party's three key demands regarding the electoral framework—the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and a return to ballot papers—are "non-negotiable."
In a post on social media platform X, the Congress chief stated that party workers alongside INDIA bloc alliance partners are holding protests across the country in support of these demands.
"The Congress Party's 3 demands are non-negotiable. First, the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar; second, the cancellation of SIR; third, conducting elections on Ballot Paper. Across the country, Congress workers and INDIA alliance partners are on the streets over these three issues. Whoever Civil Society Members and Youth Organisations are struggling on these issues in various places across the country, we stand with them," Kharge wrote.
Kharge also raised concerns over an alleged incident in the national capital involving women journalists, stating, "On the other hand, the BJP has harassed female journalists in Delhi, which is highly condemnable. The dictator is extremely panicked; get ready for another chapter in the distraction tactics."
The Congress president's remarks come in the backdrop of demonstrations staged in the national capital on October 3 by the All India Students' Association (AISA) and other groups protesting against the Chief Election Commissioner over the SIR exercise. During the agitation near Jantar Mantar, several demonstrators, including AISA president Neha Bora alongside senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Prashant Bhushan, attempted to breach police barricades.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Neha Yadav, the protesters were warned to vacate the site as prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were in force, and were subsequently detained upon refusing to comply. Following the detentions, three women identifying themselves as journalists lodged a complaint alleging that police personnel manhandled and sexually harassed them while managing the law and order situation at the protest site.
Earlier on September 30, presenting a united front against the Election Commission, the INDIA bloc parties on Wednesday had put up the same three demands, sharply escalating its political confrontation with the poll body.
Following an INDIA bloc coordination meeting at the Constitution Club in New Delhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced a nationwide protest programme, saying that INDIA bloc leaders would hold a "Save Democracy March" at the district level from October 2 to October 8. He further said that opposition MPs would march to the Election Commission on October 6, while opposition leaders would meet President Droupadi Murmu in the second week of October to raise concerns over alleged institutional issues.
The remarks come amid a political row over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the revision exercise and questioned the independence of the poll panel.
The issue gained traction following The Indian Express report that Election Commissioners Vivek Joshi and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu had recorded objections 14 times over key files in the last 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)
Mallikarjun Kharge reiterates Congress' 3 "non-negotiable" demands: CEC exit, rollback of SIR, return to ballot papers
