Mumbai, Sep 26 The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Raj and Uddhav Thackeray, respectively, will organise a mass protest march in Mumbai on October 4 against the Election Commission, led by CEC Gyanesh Kumar, dubbing it a “branch of the ruling party”.
Alleging “gross deception” of voters under the guise of SIR, MNS chief Raj Thackeray appealed to all political parties to ensure that the protest becomes a collective voice for the entire political system and the public.
“Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) have organised a mass protest march in Mumbai on October 4 against the Election Commission, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, that seems to be acting as if it is a mere branch of the ruling party,” he said in a post.
He said although Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (UBT) are taking the lead in organising this event, it’s a people’s march.
“We intend to reach out to all political parties to ensure this becomes a collective voice for the entire political system and the public, rather than being limited to just one or two parties. We earnestly appeal to the people of Maharashtra to participate in this march in large numbers,” the MNS chief said.
Amidst the ongoing row over alleged differences between the two Election Commissioners and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commission has said that differing views and observations are a normal part of institutional deliberations and asserted that its orders have full legal sanction and follow statutory procedures.
Earlier on Saturday, Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray backed the Cockroach Janta Party’s call to protest in huge numbers if the CEC does not resign.
“If Gyanesh doesn’t go, Mumbai will step out against Vote Chori from 2nd October, in huge numbers!!” Aaditya said in a post on X.
CJP co-founder Abhijit Dipke, in a post on X on Friday, said the youth-led outfit would launch a nationwide protest from Mumbai on October 2 and take it to cities across India if Kumar did not quit.
The Dipke-led outfit has also warned of a nationwide agitation, including what it called ‘Jantar Mantar 2.0’.
Launching its “Election Commission Thik Karo” campaign, the CJP said it would focus on the exclusion of more than 13 crore names from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union Territories during the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
(PTI News)
