India bloc leaders honour Gandhi at Raj Ghat, demand CEC’s resignation
India bloc leaders honour Gandhi at Raj Ghat, demand CEC’s resignation
M.U.H
08/10/202631
India bloc leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat on October 8, continuing their call for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation amid alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
This marked the third consecutive day of protests in the national capital, following a march to Nirvachan Sadan on October 6 and a demonstration near Jantar Mantar on October 7. Members of Parliament travelled by bus to Raj Ghat for their peaceful sit-in protest.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) and MP KC Venugopal described the opposition’s demonstration as a significant message. He stated, “This is the greatest message we are giving. Mahatma Gandhi led the freedom fight for India. The entire democracy is completely finished by Modi and Shah through Gyanesh Kumar. We have come here to pray to Mahatma. This is one of the most powerful agitations… We will let you know (the next course of action).”
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said the nation was united behind the demand and urged the central leadership to heed public opinion. “The entire country is united today. The country demands Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. PM should bow before the nation and remember that he himself had called himself ‘Pradhansevak’. As the Prime Minister, he should listen to the voice of the country and leave, trying to win the election through deceit with the help of the Election Commission,” he declared.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu accused authorities of undermining voting rights. He said, “Every citizen of this country has the right to their own vote. That is the beauty of this democracy. The fundamental trait of any democracy is to give voting rights to its citizens by which they select their own Government. That is being snatched away today. It means you are directly attacking democracy.”
He emphasised that Rahul Gandhi was defending the voting rights of citizens rather than those of his party. “Today, Rahul Gandhi is not fighting for the votes of his own party, his own vote. He is fighting for the votes of citizens of this country. That is the fundamental right of the citizens of this country. You can’t snatch it away,” Mallu said.
Regarding the Election Commission’s role, he said, “EC’s fundamental duty is to create a trust and confidence among the citizens of this country. But today, every voter is expressing doubt on the EC. Once this doubt arises, it is not the EC’s duty to come out and prove itself. Is it not the duty of the CEC to step down and apologise to the country?”
Kharge told reporters earlier, “We, the members of the INDIA alliance, are heading to the Gandhi Memorial to stage a peaceful sit-in protest. We will sit there and pray that the BJP government, specifically PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, be granted the wisdom to realise that their actions are not in the nation’s interest. Whether it is the issue of vote theft, the rising inflation, the problems facing the youth, or any other crisis they have created, everything goes against the public interest.”
Rahul Gandhi alleged a criminal conspiracy involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, vowing that they would be held accountable. He said, “About 300 MPs want to hold a peaceful protest. We are not being allowed to hold the protest for the past two days. On the first day, they stopped us in front of the Election Commission; the next day we were stopped near Jantar Mantar. Our people were beaten. The reality is that Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Gyanesh Kumar and Mohan Bhagwat have hijacked India with a criminal conspiracy, destroyed the Constitution and did ‘vote chori’. Action will be taken, they will be brought to justice; this is our guarantee.”
