New Delhi [India], October 3 (ANI): Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday urged all Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) of states to speak out and “expose” what he termed “unlawful acts” allegedly carried out during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls under the directions of Chief Electoral Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X, Chidambaram alleged that excluding 13.30 crore people from the electoral rolls, excluding deceased persons, amounted to a “grave illegality” and called on state election officials to uphold the Constitution.
“I urge all Chief Electoral Officers of states to speak NOW and expose the unlawful acts that they were compelled to commit under S.I.R. on the directions of Mr Gyanesh Kumar. The exclusion of 13,30,00,000 persons (except the dead) from the electoral rolls is a grave illegality. Be brave, and uphold the Constitution of India,” Chidambaram said.
Earlier on Friday, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi stepped up his attack on the Election Commission and demanded the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
In a post on X on Gandhi Jayanti, Gandhi said thousands of young people were protesting against what he described as “vote theft” and alleged that hundreds of protesters had been detained.
“Today is Gandhi Jayanti. And today, thousands of young people are on the streets against vote theft - peacefully, without violence, exercising their constitutional rights. Their demand is clear: Gyanesh Kumar must resign. Save democracy,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi invoked Mahatma Gandhi's teachings on non-violence and truth while describing the protests."Bapu taught us exactly this - speak the truth, fight peacefully. And that's what scares this government the most," he said, adding, "Because a lathi can stop a crowd, but not a question. Gyanesh Kumar will go. And the system that put him there will go too."
The issue has triggered demonstrations by opposition parties, student organisations and civil society groups in Delhi and Mumbai. On Friday, more than 500 people were detained during protests in Delhi, while demonstrations led by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) were also held at Mumbai's Shivaji Park demanding greater transparency in the electoral-roll revision process.
Several opposition leaders in Delhi, including AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, were detained amid prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
The opposition's campaign against the Chief Election Commissioner is expected to continue, with the INDIA bloc planning further protests, including a program on October 6 and a major rally in Delhi on November 1.
The fresh political row came after a report by The Indian Express, which claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the SIR exercise and other electoral matters.
The reported objections included issues concerning Form 6, voter deletions and access to electoral-roll databases. The Election Commission, however, rejected the suggestion that the reported objections amounted to institutional dissent over final decisions.
The poll panel said that operational queries, inputs and suggestions raised during the draft stage were part of its standard administrative and decision-making process. ECI stated that the decisions regarding the schedule of the SIR exercise were unanimous. (ANI)
"Be brave, uphold Constitution": P Chidambaram urges all state CEOs to expose "unlawful acts" over SIR under CEC’s directions
