Chandigarh [India], October 23 (ANI): Launching a blistering attack on the poll body, Punjab Cabinet Minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that votes belonging to Opposition supporters are being systematically deleted through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise at the behest of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to undermine democracy.
The remarks came as the Punjab Vidhan Sabha adopted a resolution against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, with the state legislature formally urging the President Murmu to initiate criminal proceedings against the top election official for allegedly stripping the poor and the Opposition of their voting rights.
Talking to ANI here, Cheema said the state legislature has formally petitioned President Droupadi Murmu to initiate criminal proceedings against the top election official over alleged selective deletion of voters under the SIR exercise.
"The Punjab Assembly has adopted a resolution against the Chief Election Commissioner of the country that Gyanesh Kumar wants to end the democracy of this country at the behest of the BJP. Attempts are being made to finish off Opposition parties of the country one after the other," Cheema said.
Lashing out at the Centre, the Punjab Finance Minister alleged that the ongoing electoral revision is being manipulated to strip vulnerable sections of their democratic rights.
"Votes for the Opposition are being deleted through SIR... The BJP is attempting to snatch away the voting rights of the poor through Gyanesh Kumar. We have requested the President of the country to initiate criminal proceedings against Gyanesh Kumar," he said.
The resolution adopted by the Assembly comes amid escalating allegations by the Aam Aadmi Party and the wider Opposition against the poll body over electoral transparency and arbitrary voter removals ahead of key electoral contests.
Earlier, high drama unfolded in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha as Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira was suspended for the remainder of the ongoing session following a resolution moved by Cheema over alleged obstruction of House proceedings and use of objectionable language.
The suspension triggered a fiery political confrontation between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Opposition, with Congress legislators subsequently boycotting the House and staging a walkout.
Moving the resolution in the Assembly, Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema aimed at the Congress, accusing the party of hypocrisy and of having a history of violence and inaction on the state's drug crisis.
"From 1980 to 1995, Punjab saw a dark era when people of the Congress party indulged in murders. Several Hindus and Sikhs were also killed at that time. Congress party is the killer of the youth of Punjab. They have killed our children. What issue are they raising today?" Cheema said. (ANI)
"Opposition votes being deleted through SIR": Harpal Cheema hits out after Punjab Assembly adopts resolution against CEC
