Congress plans nationwide stir seeking CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal, restoration of eligible voters among 130 million deleted names

The Congress said on Monday it will launch a series of protests under the banner “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” across the country to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the restoration of the names of eligible voters among the 130 million deleted from the electoral rolls.

The party held a preparatory meeting attended by all general secretaries, in-charges and state unit chiefs. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi led the discussions.

Congress invites DMK, AAP to join stir

From October 10 to November 26, the Congress plans to hold marches, rallies and village meetings as part of a “continuous, aggressive campaign” against Kumar. In a change of stance, the party has also invited its two estranged allies — the DMK and the AAP — to join the INDIA bloc’s march to the Election Commission on Tuesday and attend the Ramlila Maidan rally on November 1.

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The AAP quit the bloc after the Lok Sabha elections, while the DMK snapped ties in June this year after the Congress lent support to the TVK government .At the group’s last meeting on September 30, several parties nudged the Congress to find a way to bring the DMK back into the alliance. The TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Left have retained ties with the AAP.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal announced the programmes, and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said, “We are inviting all Opposition parties to participate in the march and the Ramlila Maidan rally.”

Bikes rallies, padyatras, ‘vote rakshaks’

Venugopal announced that the party would begin the “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” campaign on October 10. “Between October 10 and 20, there would be block-level protests in the form of bike rallies or padyatras. This will take place all over India. We will also burn effigies of Gyanesh Kumar and distribute pamphlets against his misdeeds,” he said.

The party will organise month-long village-level meetings beginning October 25. “In these meetings, our party workers will identify genuine voters who have been deleted from the voters’ list. We are naming our workers ‘vote rakshaks’,” Venugopal said.

On November 25 and 26, the Congress will take out six yatras from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to mark its protests on Constitution Day.

At the meeting, Kharge said the Chief Election Commissioner must be removed because he knew he had been “caught by the people”. He cautioned that the BJP might try to distract public attention, but said the party must complete its task. He emphasised that genuine voters must be restored to the electoral rolls.

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Gandhi told party leaders that the issue concerned the people. Wary of the CJP’s growing popularity and its ability to attract young people, Gandhi told them, “You must protest in a way that catches people’s attention so that they can join you.” He asked the NSUI, which has been largely absent from the protests, to step up its efforts.

“The EC has become the cheating commission of India. After so many observations from the Supreme Court and the Opposition parties, and after objections from the two commissioners, he is misleading the people. He is also misleading them on Form 6. He is not stepping down even as the entire country wants him to be removed. We are not going to allow him to remain in the chair. We will ensure that he is removed,” Venugopal said.