INDIA bloc to march on Election Commission on October 6 over alleged vote theft
The INDIA bloc will send its MPs to the Election Commission on October 6, escalating a protest campaign over alleged “vote theft” and irregularities in
The INDIA bloc will send its MPs to the Election Commission on October 6, escalating a protest campaign over alleged “vote theft” and irregularities in voter-roll revisions. The opposition alliance also plans district-level “Save Democracy” rallies from October 2 to October 8, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said on Wednesday.
The announcement came after leaders of the opposition bloc met in New Delhi to hammer out a joint response to the controversy around the Special Intensive Revision, or SIR, of electoral rolls. They are also pressing for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner. The row has sharpened a familiar fight in India over the integrity of elections, with the opposition accusing the poll body of failing to act independently.
Protest calendar set
Kharge said the alliance will hold a public meeting in Delhi on November 1. He also renewed the demand that ballots replace electronic voting machines, a long-running opposition position that has resurfaced sharply in recent months.
Several opposition leaders used the post-meeting briefing to attack the Election Commission. TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee said irregularities were taking place across the country, and especially in West Bengal, arguing that comments from election commissioners themselves lent weight to earlier political complaints. Congress Rajya Sabha member Kapil Sibal said the question of accountability could not be avoided. “Who offers resignation here? But they will have to resign,” he said.
Sharp words, clear alignment
TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, speaking after the meeting, repeated her call for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to step down. Rahul Gandhi, according to remarks shared after the huddle, said the democratic system had been attacked and that the opposition would work to protect it.
PC Chacko of the NCP-SP said there was “total unanimity” in the meeting, underscoring the bloc’s effort to present a united front even as internal frictions have surfaced elsewhere in the alliance. The DMK, however, said a day earlier that it would skip the meeting, with party spokesperson TKS Elangovan saying the party was no longer part of the alliance after Congress broke ties with it and backed Vijay’s TVK following the Tamil Nadu assembly elections.
The October 6 march now gives the opposition a fresh focal point. If the schedule holds, the alliance’s next public show of force will begin with district rallies on October 2 and culminate in the march to the Election Commission office four days later.
Source: thehindu.com
