Gandhi also said the opposition leaders would meet Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday and hand over a memorandum to him as well. The delegation comprised him, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule, SP’s Rajeev Rai, RJD’s Manoj Jha, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, CPI(M) general secretary MA Baby and CPI’s D Raja met her.
A delegation of INDIA bloc leaders met President Droupadi Murmu Friday evening and handed over a memorandum to her with four demands over the alleged “vote chori”. Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi said he was “shocked” that the President “did not deny” the election theft charge.
Carrying a big “Save Democracy” banner, INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament House to Vijay Chowk where they were stopped by the police, who had put up barricades. After that, the delegation, whose names had been sent to Rashtrapati Bhawan, headed to meet President Murmu to hand over a memorandum on the “vote chori” issue.
Under fire over objections raised by two of its commissioners, the Election Commission had asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution and that all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures. Thursday was the third consecutive day of protests against the CEC and alleged vote theft by the opposition leaders, who pledged to continue their agitation until the CEC resigns. The opposition’s aggressive push comes days after a report by The Indian Express said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the last 10 months, mostly to decisions and orders related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Last week, the INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan on the SIR row, including holding rallies and “save democracy” marches. The INDIA bloc leaders on Thursday staged a sit-in at Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, to highlight what they alleged was “hijacking” of the country by Prime Minister Modi, Union Home Minister Shah and the CEC through a criminal conspiracy of “vote chori.
Briefing reporters after the meeting, Kharge said the INDIA bloc leaders sought a return to ballot paper instead of EVMs for future polls. The memo read: “We urge you, as the constitutional Head of the Republic, to take cognisance of this grave situation and use your good offices to ensure that the following demands are addressed without delay: Resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner and the repeal of 2023 law that provides life-long immunity to the CEC and ECs; immediate suspension of the SIR and immediate restoration of all 13.30 crore voters illegally deleted from electoral rolls; a return to paper ballots for all elections; repeal all Assembly elections over the last two years in which conclusive evidence of vote chori has been presented.”
