Mumbai, Sep 26 The Congress said on Saturday it will stage protests across Maharashtra on September 28, demanding the dismissal and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, whom it accused of acting in a biased manner.
In a statement, the party’s state unit alleged that Kumar had undermined democracy and the Constitution and that the Election Commission’s functioning was aimed at benefiting the BJP.
The party claimed that 13 crore voters were removed from electoral rolls across the country during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, including more than 3 crore electors in Maharashtra.
It also claimed that 47 lakh voters had been added to the electoral rolls before the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections, but their whereabouts were now unknown.
The Congress said similar voter deletion had taken place during the Bihar and West Bengal assembly elections.
According to the opposition party, it would stage protests in all districts of Maharashtra and involve its workers, office-bearers, legislators, MPs and workers.
The Congress has alleged that its senior leader Rahul Gandhi’s repeated claims regarding “vote theft” have been vindicated, and demanded that Kumar be removed from service and arrested.
The Opposition has been attacking Kumar over reports of differences within the three-member Election Commission over various decisions and instructions relating to electoral-roll revision, deletion and addition of names, changes to forms for new voters and access to voter data.
The Election Commission on Saturday asserted that all SIR orders were issued after approval from all three Election Commissioners and the changes in Form 6, through which names are included in the voters’ list, have been upheld by the Supreme Court.
(PTI News)
