New Delhi [India], October 9 (ANI): Leaders of the INDIA Alliance met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday evening and handed over a memorandum to her with four demands over the alleged “vote chori”.
The leaders also demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, an end to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a return to ballot papers for elections.
The memorandum listed four demands, stating, “Resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, the Chief Election Commissioner and the repeal of the 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.”
“We have incontrovertible proof that Vote Chori has taken place on a massive scale in election after election. Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, MP, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal have been stolen. Both the EVMs and the electoral rolls have been completely manipulated by the BJP in several other Assembly and Lok Sabha elections. Democracy is being murdered in broad daylight. This is a crime against the nation and the Chief Election Commissioner has blatantly cheated and lied to the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India to cover up this crime,” it further stated
Following the closed-door meeting with President Droupadi Murmu, a 10-member Opposition delegation emerged to brief the press on the outcome of its representation. The delegation included Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge.
The bloc’s regional leaders were represented by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Samajwadi Party leader Rajiv Rai, NCP leader Supriya Sule and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah.
The Left was represented by CPI(M) leader MA Baby and CPI leader D Raja. The Rashtriya Janata Dal was represented by Tejashwi Yadav and Manoj Jha, while Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi chief Thol. Thirumavalavan was also part of the delegation.
After meeting the President, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said he was “shocked and stunned” that President Droupadi Murmu accepted the Opposition’s allegations of ‘vote chori’ rather than denying them amid the ongoing protests over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
“The main thing is that I expected the President of India to deny that ‘vote chori’ was taking place. I expected her to say that India has a free and fair electoral system. I was shocked and stunned that the President of India accepted what we said,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Regarding the President’s response during their interaction, Rahul Gandhi said, “I sat in quite an unbelievable meeting. First, we took a memorandum to the President of India. In that memorandum, we clearly stated that the Prime Minister, HM Amit Shah, and CEC Gyanesh Kumar had conspired to destroy Indian democracy. The President in no way denied what we said, questioned what we said, or argued what we said. She accepted our statement and then told us that we needed to provide her with proof of ‘election chori’. I said that the evidence of ‘election chori’ is known to the entire country. State after state has been stolen. The 2024 election was stolen, and yet the President wants us to submit proof to her. This same group of people will be very happy to present the evidence of ‘election chori’ that we have collected to the President of India when she is ready to accept it…”
Congress chief and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge confirmed that the delegation had presented its case in detail.
“We went specifically to apprise the President of the agitation we launched four days ago regarding the theft of votes, and we presented our case fully. We highlighted the issue of vote theft and the grave error committed by Gyanesh Kumar. We demanded that EVMs be set aside and elections be conducted using ballot papers. Furthermore, she asked for evidence regarding the instances of vote theft; we are currently compiling this evidence and will submit it… She listened attentively and stated that she would investigate the matter thoroughly, consult the concerned parties, and determine the appropriate course of action,” he said.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee also said the President had assured the delegation that she would examine the matter.
“We have submitted a memorandum. We have seen from a positive outlook that she said she will investigate; she will go through the details, and she needs evidence. She has asked us to send, which we said we will… The country is very concerned, and you, as a custodian of the Constitution, should take proper care so democracy remains,” Banerjee said.
Opposition MPs staged an agitation and march before entering the presidential estate.
Prior to the delegation’s entry into Rashtrapati Bhavan, Opposition leaders gathered at Vijay Chowk and Central Hall, criticising the central government and the Delhi administration over heavy security deployments, metro station closures and internet shutdowns across the national capital.
Meanwhile, Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) announced its march to Jantar Mantar on October 10, with CJP activist Abhijeet Dipke adding that the protest would continue even if he was detained or arrested.
“Tomorrow our march is going to take place at Jantar Mantar. For that, tomorrow morning I will leave from Mumbai for Delhi. After landing in Delhi, what will happen to me, I don’t know. Whether I will be arrested right from the airport or arrested after that… I’m really not sure. But one thing is for sure, I am not going to step back, I am not going to be afraid, because we have to save our country’s democracy,” he said.
However, the Delhi Police on Friday rejected the application seeking permission for the planned demonstration on October 10, citing short notice, past non-compliance and prevailing law-and-order concerns, officials said.
Police instructed teams to detain anyone attempting to stage a protest, irrespective of their location.
Unlike the deployment during the INDIA alliance protest, police teams have now been authorised to carry lathis or batons. Additional women personnel from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana have also been called in for the October 10 protest.
Multiple Facial Recognition Systems (FRS), additional CCTV cameras, rooftop spotters and drones will be deployed across Central Delhi.
More than 35,000 Delhi Police and paramilitary personnel are expected to be deployed for the CJP protest at Jantar Mantar on Saturday, with protesters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Several student outfits and political groups are also expected to join the protest. Delhi Police has maintained that no permission has been granted for the demonstration. (ANI)
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