Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], September 25 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh Congress on Friday staged a protest outside the office of the Chief Electoral Officer at Kasumpti in Shimla, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and alleging that the Election Commission has failed to act independently.
The protest was organised against what Congress leaders described as alleged irregularities in the electoral process and the manner in which the Chief Election Commissioner was appointed. The party said it would intensify the issue through a state-wide public campaign.
Addressing reporters, AICC in-charge for Himachal Pradesh Congress Rajani Patil alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders had been repeatedly raising concerns over irregularities in elections for the past three years.
“We had been saying for the last three years that there were irregularities in elections. Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition, has repeatedly raised this issue before journalists and the people. Now we have become convinced that there has been ‘vote chori’,” Patil said.
She referred to the Congress campaign against alleged “vote theft”, saying the party had already taken the issue to different parts of the country and would now take it to the people more extensively.
Patil also referred to a recent Indian Express report claiming differences within the Election Commission, alleging that two Election Commissioners had expressed disagreement with the Chief Election Commissioner on several occasions.
“Two of his colleagues have raised objections against him. They reportedly expressed disagreement 12 to 14 times in 10 months, but their objections were not accepted and were instead bulldozed,” she alleged.
Patil said such functioning of the constitutional institution would have serious implications for the country’s democratic system and Constitution.
“If this continues, the entire Constitution of India will be finished. This is the fight that Rahul Gandhi is fighting, and we will take this fight to the common people,” she said.
Patil also criticised the legal protection available to members of the Election Commission, alleging that the system had made them effectively “untouchable”. Referring to the selection committee comprising the Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister and the Leader of Opposition, she claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted a dissent note during the process but that it was disregarded.
She said Congress would continue its campaign against what she described as arbitrary functioning and would mobilise public support on the issue.
Responding to a question on whether the Election Commission was working under pressure from the BJP, Patil said, “If Gyanesh Kumar is doing the work of the BJP, then he should join the BJP.”
Patil made a strong allegation against the CEC, calling him a “traitor” and demanding that he be removed from office. She said that if he was not removed, the Congress would continue its agitation and seek action against him, including through legal and political means.
Asked about alleged irregularities in elections in other states, Patil referred to Haryana, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar, claiming that complaints had been raised regarding electoral processes in these states as well.
She alleged that if elections continued in this manner, democracy would remain only in name.
“If elections are conducted like this, there will be democracy only in name. The Constitution has been undermined, and we will oppose this,” Patil said.
She said that if the CEC did not resign or was not removed, the Congress would seek to mobilise people through a broader public movement.
“No one can withstand a people’s movement. If people themselves feel that this is not right, they will come forward. Congress workers are ready and we will fight together on this issue,” she said.
On the upcoming elections in Himachal Pradesh, Patil said the party still had around one-and-a-half years before the state polls and that other states, including Punjab and Uttarakhand, also had elections ahead.
During her visit to Himachal Pradesh, Patil said she would meet district Congress presidents and review the organisation’s preparedness and ongoing work.
“We will meet all the district presidents today, review the work being done and decide our future strategy. I also want to visit every constituency and assess the ground-level preparation there along with our colleagues,” she said.
The Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee president, Vinay Kumar, said the immediate objective of Friday’s protest was to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from his post.
“The purpose of our gathering today is very clear. The Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, should be removed from his post with immediate effect,” Vinay Kumar said.
Referring to a recent report published by The Indian Express, Vinay Kumar alleged that two of the three Election Commission members had repeatedly expressed opposition to the functioning of the CEC.
“As has been revealed by The Indian Express, two of the three members of the Election Commission have spoken against him several times, and there have been 14 such attempts in 10 months. I do not think he should continue in this post,” he said.
Vinay Kumar also demanded registration of an FIR against the CEC and alleged that action should be taken against him under law.
“He should be removed immediately, and an FIR should be registered against him. He should be behind bars,” he said.
The HPCC chief said the Congress would now expand the agitation beyond Shimla.
“We will launch a people’s movement. Today, the PCC has taken a call that on Monday and Tuesday, protests will be held in all districts. We will bring this issue before the people and expose what we believe are the lapses committed by the Modi government,” he said.
The Congress leaders said the party’s district-level protests would form part of a broader campaign on electoral transparency, the functioning of the Election Commission and alleged “vote theft”.
The protesting leaders also signed against the ECI, and an effigy of Gyanesh Kumar was also burnt during the protest. (ANI)
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