New Delhi, 30 September (H.S.): The opposition INDIA bloc has decided to launch a nationwide agitation against the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Constituents of the alliance will organise marches across the country from October 2 to 8, while opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission’s office on October 6. The bloc has also called for voting through ballot papers instead of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from office. Gyanesh Kumar is currently serving as India’s Chief Election Commissioner, according to the Election Commission of India.

The eighth meeting of the INDIA bloc, held at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on Wednesday, lasted nearly three hours. Discussions focused on the SIR exercise, EVMs and VVPAT, electoral rolls and the demand for the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner. Representatives of 20 opposition parties, including the Congress, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction), Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray faction), Rashtriya Janata Dal, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference, Peoples Democratic Party, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist), Indian Union Muslim League, Kerala Congress (M), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kerala Congress (Joseph), and All India Forward Bloc attended the meeting.

Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said all constituent parties of the alliance would jointly take up these issues. He alleged that the central government had turned the Election Commission into a “puppet” and accused the BJP of engaging in “vote theft” in collusion with the poll panel. Kharge said voting should be conducted through ballot papers instead of EVMs to restore public confidence in elections.

Kharge said opposition parties would organise ‘Save Democracy Marches’ across the country from October 2 to 8. On October 6, all opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission. Opposition leaders will also seek an appointment with the President in the second week of October to brief her on issues concerning the electoral process and constitutional institutions. Five major rallies will subsequently be organised during October and November, with their dates and venues to be finalised later. A major rally will be held in Delhi on November 1.

Kharge also outlined six demands on behalf of the opposition parties. These include using the electoral rolls prepared before the SIR for future elections; ensuring complete transparency in every change made to the voter lists; providing notice and a right to appeal before any voter’s name is deleted; protecting eligible voters from exclusion on administrative grounds; replacing EVM voting with ballot-paper voting; and simplifying voter registration for young people.

He said complete information on changes to the electoral rolls should be made public. He reiterated the demand that the voter lists prepared before the SIR be used for future elections. According to Kharge, any genuine voter whose name is proposed to be removed from the electoral roll should be notified in advance, informed of the reason and given an effective opportunity to appeal. He also called for safeguards against the exclusion of eligible voters because of administrative shortcomings, missing documents or lack of information.

Kharge claimed that the names of 13.3 crore voters had been removed from electoral rolls under the SIR. He said that if names had been deleted, the authorities should disclose whose names were removed and the reasons for the deletions. He stressed that an independent and impartial Election Commission was essential under Article 324 of the Constitution. Kharge also referred to reported disagreements involving the two Election Commissioners, saying they had recorded dissent on 14 occasions over the past 10 months. He cited this as a reason to question the functioning of the Chief Election Commissioner and reiterated the demand for his removal.

Kharge also raised the issue of the 2023 law governing the appointment, service conditions and tenure of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners. He said the law replaced the Chief Justice of India with a Union minister on the selection committee responsible for appointing the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. He alleged that the government had created a system that could influence the Election Commission. Kharge further alleged that changes to Form 6, used for voter registration, were making it more difficult for young people to register as first-time voters. He called for a simpler and more accessible registration process for first-time voters.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said all INDIA bloc leaders had pledged to jointly oppose those whom they believe are harming democracy. He said it made no difference how powerful or influential the individual concerned might be, adding that Indian democracy was greater than any individual. Gandhi said opposition parties had succeeded in conveying to the public their allegation that elections were being “stolen”. He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah of damaging democratic institutions and said a sense of resistance was growing among young people. He added that opposition parties were working together and would seek to bring about major changes in the country in the coming months.

Former West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said the INDIA bloc remained united and that all its constituent parties were together. She levelled allegations against the Election Commission and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and demanded Kumar’s resignation. Banerjee said questions surrounding the electoral process had become more pronounced following the “vote theft” issue raised by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav.

She also raised allegations concerning the BJP’s victories in Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Bihar, as well as the electoral process in West Bengal. She said opposition parties had raised their grievances at every level, including before the Election Commission and the Supreme Court. Banerjee alleged that “vote theft” had taken place and that EVMs had been tampered with, and demanded the immediate resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner. She warned that the agitation would be intensified if he did not step down.

The meeting was the eighth gathering of the INDIA bloc over the past three years and the second such meeting this year. Opposition parties had earlier met on June 8 to discuss the SIR exercise and the independence of the Election Commission. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam did not attend that meeting. Neither party sent a representative to Wednesday’s meeting either. However, both parties had signed a joint letter sent by opposition parties to the Chief Justice of India on June 28 concerning the SIR issue.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar