Bhopal, Sep 25 A day after the Congress announced protests over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Left parties on Friday announced a week-long campaign across Madhya Pradesh to press for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s removal.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI and CPI (ML) said their campaign would run from September 26 to October 2, during which there would be protests, public meetings and burning of effigies.
They also demanded that the SIR process be stopped, names of the voters deleted wrongfully be restored, and it should be ensured that the Election Commission functions impartially.
In a joint statement, CPI(M) state secretary Jaswinder Singh, CPI state secretary Shailendra Kumar Shaily and CPI (ML) Central Control Commission chairman Devendra Singh Chauhan alleged that Kumar had ignored objections raised by the two Election Commissioners and taken arbitrary decisions which affected the poll panel’s impartiality.
They also sought a change in the existing system of appointing election commissioners, proposing a three-member selection committee of the Prime Minister, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India.
The Congress had announced on Thursday that it would hit the streets from September 28 demanding Kumar’s resignation. State Congress chief Jitu Patwari had said the party would gherao the office of the chief electoral officer here on September 28.
(PTI News)
