Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Oct 09
Opposition INDIA bloc leaders met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday and submitted a memorandum alleging electoral irregularities, with Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying they would provide evidence of what they described as “vote chori”.
The delegation, led by Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, called for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Gandhi said the president had sought evidence of the alleged electoral wrongdoing and that the opposition would submit it when she was ready to receive it.
The delegation included Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, Samajwadi Party’s Rajeev Rai, RJD leader Manoj Jha, VCK chief Thol Thirumavalavan, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby and CPI leader D. Raja.
Gandhi said the opposition leaders would also meet Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Monday and submit a memorandum to him.
The meeting with Murmu followed a march by INDIA bloc MPs from Parliament House towards Vijay Chowk.
Police stopped the march at barricades, after which the delegation proceeded to Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Kharge said the opposition had also sought a return to ballot papers instead of electronic voting machines for future elections.
Gandhi alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Kumar had conspired to undermine Indian democracy.
These were opposition allegations and were not established findings.
“I actually expected the President of India to deny that ‘vote chori’ is taking place,” Gandhi told reporters, adding that he was surprised she had asked for evidence rather than rejecting the allegations.
Banerjee described the meeting as positive and said the opposition alliance remained united and strong.
Earlier, INDIA bloc leaders met at the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan to discuss their campaign against alleged electoral irregularities and demand Kumar’s removal.
Addressing opposition MPs, Gandhi said the issue went beyond the chief election commissioner’s conduct and called for the termination of the current government. He said continued pressure from the opposition could bring the government down.
The opposition’s campaign follows a report by The Indian Express that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over the preceding 10 months, mostly concerning decisions related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Election Commission said differences of opinion were normal within institutions and that its orders carried legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures.
The INDIA bloc has announced a joint action plan that includes rallies and marches under the “Save Democracy” banner.
On Thursday, opposition leaders held a sit-in at Rajghat, Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial, accusing the prime minister, home minister and chief election commissioner of conspiring to undermine the electoral process.
The protests marked the third consecutive day of opposition demonstrations, with leaders vowing to continue their campaign until Kumar resigned.
