INDIA bloc leaders will meet President Droupadi Murmu at 8 pm on Friday to press their demand for Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The President’s office confirmed the appointment on Friday morning, sources said.
A delegation of ten INDIA bloc leaders will meet President Droupadi Murmu to demand Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and address the ongoing row over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The delegation include Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, TMC Chairperson Mamata Banerjee, CPM general secretary M A Baby, CPI general secretary D Raja and RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav among others.
An opposition leader told TNIE that the INDIA bloc MPs will meet at Parliament’s central hall at 5 pm on Friday and are likely to march to Rashtrapati Bhawan thereafter.
“The 10- member delegation will meet the President. If the police don’t stop us on the way, we will also accompany them till Rashtrapati Bhawan,” said the leader.
The opposition alliance had sought an appointment with the President on October 2. The Rashtrapati Bhavan subsequently asked for the names of the leaders who would attend the meeting. On October 5, the INDIA bloc submitted the names and renewed its request for an appointment on October 7, 8 or 9, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said on Thursday.
“So far, we have received no response. We will wait until Friday,” Venugopal had said.
Sources told PTI that “all options are on the table” if the opposition does not receive an appointment. Possible venues for further protests against Kumar and the SIR exercise include Seva Teerth, Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Vice-President’s residence and the residences of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah
If held, Friday’s demonstration would mark the fourth consecutive day of protests by opposition leaders.
On Thursday, INDIA bloc leaders staged a sit-in at Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, alleging that Modi, Shah and Kumar were “hijacking” the country through a criminal conspiracy involving alleged “vote chori”.
The protest followed two days of demonstrations during which several opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were detained and forcibly removed by police. At Rajghat, the leaders offered floral tributes and prayed for “wisdom to the BJP government and the chief election commissioner”. They pledged to continue their agitation until Kumar resigns.
Last week, the INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan over the SIR controversy, including rallies and “Save Democracy” marches.
The opposition’s campaign has intensified following a report by The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over the preceding 10 months, mostly concerning decisions and orders related to the SIR exercise.
Responding to the reported objections, the Election Commission said differing views and observations were a normal part of deliberations in any institution. It maintained that all its orders carried full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures.
(With inputs from PTI)
