Guwahati, Sep 24 The Assam Congress will hold a protest here on Friday against alleged vote theft by the Election Commission and the “authoritarian” actions of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest march will start from the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee headquarters here and proceed to the office of the state’s chief electoral officer, a party statement said on Thursday.
The protesters will burn an effigy of the CEC and demand his immediate arrest, removal from office, and an independent high-level review of all alterations made to the electoral rolls during his tenure.
“The Congress decided to launch the agitation following revelations about the Election Commission’s functioning,” the party said.
Similar protest rallies will be held before the offices of all district commissioners in the state on September 28, it added.
An Indian Express report on Wednesday claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to SIR-related decisions, including voter deletions and electoral roll data.
The EC has, however, said that decisions relating to SIR were taken unanimously with the approval of all three commissioners.
The Congress emphasised that the revelations completely vindicate the concerns repeatedly voiced by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, and the party, alleging that the electoral machinery was being “captured and manipulated” to provide an “unfair advantage” to the ruling BJP.
(PTI News)
