New Delhi: The Congress will renew its demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at the INDIA opposition bloc’s rally in Delhi on November 1, party leaders said on Saturday, according to PTI. The party expects around 10 lakh people to attend the protest.
Haryana Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt and state unit president Rao Narendra Singh said protecting the integrity of electoral rolls, ensuring transparency in elections and safeguarding every eligible citizen’s right to vote were essential to democracy. They asserted that the party would not compromise on these principles.
The leaders said the Congress’s nationwide ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ campaign had entered a crucial phase, with organisational efforts being intensified across Haryana to mobilise people at the district, block, village and polling booth levels.
Party workers have been instructed to identify and document alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls, raise awareness about voting rights and encourage greater participation from Haryana in the November 1 rally, they told PTI.
The INDIA bloc’s rally at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi is being organised as the culmination of the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Congress said the gathering would highlight its allegations of “vote chori” (vote theft) and reinforce the Opposition’s campaign to protect democracy and the Constitution.
Questioning the Chief Election Commissioner’s role, Dutt said ensuring transparency and impartiality in the electoral process was a constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission. He said allegations concerning the deletion of eligible voters’ names and discrepancies during the revision of electoral rolls needed serious attention.
Dutt and Singh said the Congress believed that concerns over the alleged lack of impartiality in the electoral process could not be adequately addressed while Kumar remained in office. They reiterated that his removal was necessary.
The leaders further said that if an investigation established that Kumar had undermined the democratic system or violated the law, appropriate legal action, including arrest, should follow.
Dutt described the ‘Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao’ rally as part of a nationwide campaign to safeguard citizens’ voting rights, strengthen democratic institutions and demand accountability from the BJP-led government.
“The right to vote is the foundation of democracy. Protecting every citizen’s vote is equivalent to safeguarding the Constitution and the people’s mandate,” he said.
He added that the campaign was not aimed at any individual or political party alone but sought to defend every citizen’s constitutional right to elect a government through free and fair elections.
Meanwhile, Congress general secretary for organisation K C Venugopal chaired a meeting of Haryana Congress leaders and office-bearers at Indira Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday to review preparations for the rally, Dutt told PTI.
