The Biju Janata Dal joined the INDIA bloc protest in New Delhi on Tuesday. They demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged errors in electoral rolls. Manas Mangaraj said, "The party is committed to protecting democratic institutions." Many voters were reportedly excluded across the country recently.
BHUBANESWAR: The Biju Janata Dal (BJD) on Tuesday participated in the INDIA bloc MPs' protest march in New Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over his alleged arbitrary actions in connection with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the deletion of more than 13 crore voters' names across the country.
BJD parliamentary party leader Manas Mangaraj said that, as directed by party president and Leader of the Opposition Naveen Patnaik, the party's MPs are participating in the protest. He said Patnaik had already demanded Kumar's resignation over his alleged role in the SIR exercise.
Responding to BJP criticism over the dilution of the BJD's equal-distance policy, Mangaraj said the party had maintained equal distance from both the INDIA bloc and the NDA. However, as a responsible political party committed to protecting democratic institutions and the integrity of the electoral process, the BJD participated in Tuesday's protest.
Mangaraj alleged that the exclusion of more than 20 lakh voters in Odisha and over 13 crore across the country in the name of SIR had raised serious concerns. He said the incident in Dhamnagar had further heightened these apprehensions.
.BJD president Naveen backs Opposition demand for CEC's resignation, calls for SIR review.
He added the deletion of 227 votes belonging to members of a minority community from a particular area of the town, allegedly without the knowledge of the concerned booth-level officers (BLOs), raised questions about the integrity of the SIR exercise.
Mangaraj alleged that thousands of voters had been excluded from electoral rolls in the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency alone. He said the voluntary retirement sought by the state's Chief Electoral Officer had further raised questions and concerns.
The BJD leader also said the Supreme Court's observations on the modification of Form 6 had raised questions about the Election Commission of India's earlier directions concerning the SIR exercise.
The court clarified that it had not issued any such direction, contrary to what had earlier been indicated by the CEC. This, Mangaraj said, raised questions about Kumar's role in the alleged manipulation of electoral rolls.