Arya News - Congress and the INDIA bloc are escalating their campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar with a symbolic impeachment on Oct. 30 and a Nov. 1 Delhi rally, a date the BJP says is insensitive to Sikhs.
NEW DELHI – Despite the controversy over its November 1 protest call at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground, the Opposition Congress expects nearly one million people to attend the rally against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged SIR irregularities and “vote chori”.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal on Sunday held a meeting with the party’s Rajasthan unit leaders to take stock of the preparations.
Speaking to reporters in Jaipur, Venugopal claimed that around one million (10 lakh) people will participate in the mega rally.
“By invoking the SIR, democracy has effectively been dismantled. The public is deeply angry with this system. This rally is not for any single individual or any specific political party; it is intended to protect the votes of the common citizens…One million people will march to Delhi,” he said.
The Congress leader further added, “All the senior leaders share this responsibility; we will all work together—all the leaders will work in unison. Every single day, the Election Commission introduces new amendments. Our agitation will continue until Gyanesh Kumar steps down and the electoral system is cleansed. Our objective is crystal clear: we demand free and fair elections.”
If the Congress manages to rally one million people in Delhi, this would be one of the biggest agitations against the Election Commission in recent years.
Ahead of the march, the INDIA bloc will conduct a symbolic “Public Impeachment” proceeding against CEC Kumar on October 30.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, several senior leaders attended the Congress meeting, including former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Congress President Govind Singh Dotasra, Rajasthan Assembly Leader of Opposition Tikaram Jully, Congress in-charge of Punjab Sachin Pilot, National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) national president Vinod Jakhar, Rajasthan Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and co-in-charge Poonam Paswan.
On Friday, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AICC General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal met party leaders from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana at the AICC headquarters in New Delhi.
Meanwhile, the BJP has accused the Congress and Rahul Gandhi of hurting the sentiments of Sikhs as November 1 is linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that November 1 holds “deep emotional significance” for the Sikh community, yet Rahul Gandhi is adamant about holding his rally on the same day.
“By creating a storm at Ramlila Maidan on November 1, what kind of salt does Rahul Gandhi want to rub into their wounds?” he asked.
He also claimed that many INDIA bloc allies were not satisfied with Rahul Gandhi’s decision and even suggested the rally be postponed to a later date.