A 10-member INDI Alliance delegation led by Rahul Gandhi met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday. They submitted a memorandum seeking the removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities. The opposition leaders said they want to press for the ouster of Gyanesh Kumar after these reports.
Ten-member INDI Alliance delegation led by Rahul Gandhi met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted memorandum seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities flagged in SIR dissent notes. 10-member INDI Alliance delegation led by Rahul Gandhi met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan and submitted a memorandum seeking removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral roll irregularities flagged in SIR dissent notes.
New Delhi: A 10-member delegation of the INDI Alliance met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday and submitted a memorandum seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls.
The meeting came after a tense morning in the heart of Delhi where a parallel protest was underway at Vijay Chowk. The Delhi police stopped a group of opposition leaders who were marching from Parliament towards the President's House, even as the delegation proceeded to the presidential estate.
Now, with the direct outreach to the President, the INDI Alliance has escalated the agitation over their allegations of "vote chori", moving the battle from Parliament and the streets to the highest constitutional office in the country.
The delegation that met President Murmu comprised Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby, CPI General Secretary D Raja, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Rajeev Rai, NCP(SP) leader Supriya Sule, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, RJD MP Manoj Jha and Thol Thirumavalavan of the VCK.
Earlier in the day, the MPs of the INDI Alliance had gathered at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan to chalk out their strategy for intensifying the agitation over alleged manipulation of voter lists and to press for the ouster of Gyanesh Kumar.
The strategy huddle was attended by Kharge, Karnataka Deputy CM DK Shivakumar, Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and several other INDI Alliance leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, Supriya Sule, D Raja and MA Baby.
The opposition's offensive follows a media report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on record at least 14 times over the preceding 10 months, primarily on decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The Election Commission has maintained that differing views and observations are normal during institutional deliberations and that the orders follow established statutory procedures. Meanwhile, the INDI Alliance has announced a joint action plan on the SIR issue, including rallies and "Save Democracy" marches, as the bloc seeks to keep pressure on both the Election Commission and the government.
The memorandum to the President comes a day after opposition leaders staged a sit-in at Rajghat on Thursday, alleging that the country was being "hijacked" through a conspiracy involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and CEC Gyanesh Kumar.