Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The INDIA bloc is planning a major mobilisation in Delhi on October 12, with senior Opposition leaders expected to participate in a march demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and claims of electoral manipulation favouring the BJP.
The proposed demonstration is expected to intensify the Opposition’s campaign against the Election Commission, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other alliance leaders also planning to submit their memorandum against the CEC to the Supreme Court.
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Sources told India Today that senior INDIA bloc leaders have been asked to remain in Delhi for the proposed protest.
Top leadership of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Mamata AITC are also expected to join the mobilisation, underlining the Opposition’s attempt to present a united front on the issue.
Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has reportedly cancelled her plan to return to Kolkata and will participate in Monday’s protest.
The decision follows the crackdown on the INDIA bloc’s protests earlier this week. Party national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee is also scheduled to return to Delhi to participate in the demonstration.
RAHUL GANDHI ATTACKS CEC, GOVT
This comes a day after Rahul Gandhi sharpened his attack on the BJP government and the CEC. In a post on X on Saturday, he wrote in Hindi, “Gyanesh Kumar will go. This government will go. Then the repair of democracy will begin”.
His remarks followed his address to INDIA bloc MPs, in which he argued that the controversy surrounding the CEC was part of a larger problem concerning democratic institutions. He had also claimed that sustained Opposition pressure could bring down the government.
INDIA BLOC ESCALATES PROTEST
The October 12 mobilisation follows a series of Opposition demonstrations in Delhi earlier this week, during which INDIA bloc leaders marched through the capital and raised allegations of electoral malpractice.
On Friday, Opposition MPs carrying a “Save Democracy” banner marched from Parliament towards Rashtrapati Bhavan but were stopped by police at Vijay Chowk. Several leaders staged a sit-in, while a 10-member delegation met President Droupadi Murmu and submitted a memorandum seeking her intervention.
Separately, Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, were detained during the earlier protests after police stopped their march. The demonstrations also disrupted traffic in central Delhi.
Restrictions around Rajghat and Connaught Place affected access to New Delhi Railway Station on Thursday, with railway officials reporting that more than 5,000 passengers were unable to board their trains.
OPPOSITION CREATING ANARCHY: BJP
The BJP hit back at Rahul Gandhi and the INDIA bloc, accusing them of making baseless allegations against constitutional institutions and attempting to create political disorder.
The Opposition’s campaign follows reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions over decisions, largely concerning the SIR exercise.
INDIA bloc parties have alleged that the revision process could lead to the deletion of legitimate voters’ names and have demanded Kumar’s removal, suspension of the SIR exercise and accountability over the alleged irregularities.
The Election Commission, meanwhile, has maintained that its decisions follow established statutory procedures and that differences of opinion among commissioners are a normal part of institutional deliberations.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
