Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], September 29 (ANI): Gujarat Congress leaders and workers on Tuesday staged a protest in Ahmedabad, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over allegations of electoral manipulation and deletion of names from voter rolls.
Addressing the protest, Gujarat Congress President Amit Chavda alleged that the voting rights of citizens across the country were being “stolen” and accused the government of reducing the Election Commission to a “puppet”.
“This public outrage stems from the fact that the voting rights of Indians across the country are being stolen. The government has reduced the Election Commission to a mere puppet, using Gyanesh Kumar as a tool to win elections nationwide,” Chavda said.
He demanded the removal and imprisonment of Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that those responsible for “snatching away citizens’ right to vote” should be held accountable.
“We demand the immediate removal and imprisonment of Gyanesh Kumar. The people of this country will ensure that those who have betrayed the nation and snatched away the citizens’ right to vote, specifically the government and Gyanesh Kumar, are held accountable and put behind bars,” he added.
Ahmedabad City Congress Committee President Sonal Ramanbhai Patel said the protest was aimed at seeking the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and claimed that allegations raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi regarding “vote theft” had gained attention after discussions over electoral processes.
“The protest taking place here today is aimed at securing the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. For a long time, Rahul Gandhi has been highlighting how votes are being stolen and how the BJP has been winning elections for years by employing such tactics rather than relying on genuine public support,” Patel said.
She further alleged that the removal of names from electoral rolls violated citizens’ voting rights.
“Now, concrete evidence has emerged, including dissent from Election Commission officials on various occasions regarding the flawed processes, bringing the issue out into the open. Removing as many as 16 crore people from the electoral rolls effectively violates their right to vote; there is no greater act of treason than this,” she added.
GPCC Chief Spokesperson Manish Doshi said the Election Commission had a responsibility to protect democracy and alleged that it had failed in its duty.
“The Election Commission has a duty towards the entire nation to keep democracy alive. By shirking this responsibility, fraud has been committed. The manner in which the facts regarding Gyanesh Kumar have come to light reveals a murder of democracy,” Doshi said.
Congress State Co-Convenor and Spokesperson Hemang Raval said party workers and the public had participated in protests across Gujarat, wearing black clothes to register their opposition.
“Today, you can see that the Congress party is staging protests and demonstrations all over Gujarat. Our party workers and the general public have registered their protest today by wearing black clothing, and these very people are now preparing to march from here. We demand the immediate resignation of Gyanesh Kumar,” Raval said.
Congress MLA Imran Khedawala said demands for the resignation of the Election Commissioner had been raised at various locations across Gujarat, alleging that names of crores of people were removed from electoral rolls.
“On behalf of the Gujarat State Committee, demands for the resignation of the Election Commissioner of India have been raised at various locations across Gujarat. The names of over 13 crore people were removed from the electoral rolls; our respected leader Rahul Gandhi and all members of the INDIA alliance raised their voices against this,” he said.
Congress leader Ami Yagnik said the party was raising its voice against alleged “vote theft” and demanded the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar.
“We have seen all of Rahul Gandhi’s programs and have fully observed the directives. He has pointed out that the vote theft taking place is essentially the theft of every single citizen’s vote. Given the way Ganesh Kumar has orchestrated this vote theft and the knowledge he possesses regarding it, we are demanding his resignation,” she said.
The political row intensified following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections represented institutional dissent, maintaining that decisions related to SIR were taken with the unanimous approval of the Commission. (ANI)
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