New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday claimed it was denied permission to hold an event where the INDIA bloc parties planned a “public impeachment” of CEC Gyanesh Kumar ahead of their November 1 rally here and accused the government of trying to “silence” the voice of common people after “destroying” the electoral system.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal claimed the government-run Ashok Hotel initially allowed permission to host the event but later denied it after police intervention.
He said the Congress had booked Ramlila Maidan from October 25 to November 3 and decided to shift the event to the site.
He said 21 parties of the INDIA bloc had planned the “public impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar as a curtain raiser” on October 30 for the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan on the “vote chori” charge.
“The day before yesterday, our people came to construct the infrastructure here and the police stopped them. We don’t know what the reason is,” said Venugopal, who, accompanied by leaders of the Delhi Congress, visited the Ramlila grounds to oversee arrangements for the November 1 rally.
“This means it is not the Delhi Police’s decision. It is the decision of PM Modi and Amit Shah and they are protecting their pet Gyanesh Kumar,” he alleged.
“First they destroy the electoral system, and now they are trying all kinds of tricks to silence those who fight to save our democracy.
“Let it be very clear, come what may, we will not rest until Modi-Shah’s puppet Gyanesh Kumar is removed. If they stop us here, we will go to Amit Shah’s house, PM Modi’s house, and stage a massive dharna there. But we will fight to the finish, and until our mission is accomplished,” Venugopal said in a post on X.
He alleged that the government wants to “shut down criticism” against it.
“How many permissions will you deny, Mr Amit Shah? How many people will you stop?” he said.
“We don’t know how scared PM Modi and Amit Shah are, even for a minimal gathering… we are not going to succumb to their pressure and we will hold our programme. We will conduct our programme; we know how to conduct it,” Venugopal said
Asked where the event would be held, Venugopal said, “How Delhi Police will stop us, we will see. We can conduct the programme anywhere.”
“We will go ahead until Gyanesh Kumar is removed from that position and the election system of this country is purified. We are not going to sit idle till Gyanesh Kumar is removed,” the Congress leader asserted.
An opposition leader, who did not wish to be named, said the INDIA bloc parties were facing difficulties in finding a venue for the proposed “mock” impeachment of Gyanesh Kumar and were considering Ramlila Maidan as an option, or a Type-VIII bungalow of an MP as a last resort.
The parties had explored several venues, including Talkatora Stadium, Constitution Club, Mavlankar Hall, Dr Ambedkar International Centre and Ashok Hotel, but were unable to secure permission or bookings, the leader said.
The leader said it was unusual for the Constitution Club, which is generally available for such programmes, to have no bookings available until November 2.
The planned rally is part of a series of protests by the Congress and other opposition parties to demand the resignation of CE Kumar over SIR and alleged electoral irregularities.
