Police detain rail roko protesters demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's arrest in Tamil Nadu

Tension prevailed near the old railway station in Kanchipuram on Wednesday after members of the Jananayaka Meetpu Kuzhu staged a rail roko protest demanding the arrest of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.

The protesters alleged that the CEC acted in favour of Prime Minister Narendra Modi by disqualifying 13 crore voters.

Over 350 protesters march towards railway station

Heavy police and Railway Protection Force personnel were deployed in the area in view of the demonstration.

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More than 350 protesters marched in a rally from near Hotel Tamil Nadu towards the East Railway Station, where a scuffle broke out between the demonstrators and the police when officers attempted to stop their advance.

Defying police barricades, more than 50 protesters sat on the railway tracks and raised slogans against the Prime Minister and the Election Commission, repeating their demand for the arrest of the CEC.

Police detain protesters after rail roko

Police later detained all the protesters and housed them in a private marriage hall.

Members of Makkal Mandram, Communist Party of India, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, and independent social activists participated in the agitation which caused tension in the area for about an hour.

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Earlier on October 17, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Parliamentary Party adopted a resolution demanding the immediate removal of CEC Gyanesh Kumar from office and an inquiry into his conduct, accusing him of spearheading the systematic disenfranchisement of legitimate voters through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

The resolution was among four adopted at a meeting of DMK Members of Parliament held at the Murasoli Maran Meeting Hall at the party headquarters, Anna Arivalayam, under the leadership of DMK President and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Under its resolution, the DMK resolved that its MPs, under Stalin's guidance, will submit a formal petition to the President of India demanding two major electoral reforms.

The demands include the immediate and complete scrapping of the SIR—with all upcoming elections conducted using pre-SIR electoral rolls—and the discontinuation of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in favour of the traditional paper ballot system to restore public faith in the electoral process. (ANI)