New Delhi: INDIA bloc’s “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has been postponed to October 31 due to the rains here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said on Friday as the opposition asserted that the countdown to the exit of the poll body chief is accelerating.
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha reiterated that “this is not multiple protests” but “one protest”, with the opposition standing together to defend the Constitution.
“By consensus we have decided to postpone today’s programme to tomorrow because of rain. We felt that it would be uncomfortable for seniors to sit in the rain, and we would do the exact same programme tomorrow,” Gandhi said at a joint press conference with INDIA bloc leaders outside Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg residence here.
Gandhi said on November 1, we have a “Chalo Dilli” march to Ramlila ground and everyone who wishes to join is welcome, whether political or non-political.
“Both the programmes are about the demolition of Indian democracy by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his crew in the Election Commission,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha alleged.
Gandhi also alleged that the Home Minister is trying his best to stop people from coming into Delhi.
“Our party people and thousands of common people…. are being stopped. Now you watch what happens at Ramlila Maidan, you watch how many people come and how many people they stop, and you will understand what is going on in the country. There is huge anger and huge emotional pain because millions are being disenfranchised and their vote is being stolen from them to help Mr. Adani, Mr. Ambani, Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah, and Mr. Bhagwat,” Gandhi alleged.
“This is not multiple protests. This is one protest. The entire opposition is standing here. Anybody who wants to protest, any person is welcome to come here. We are all standing here because we are defending the Constitution, we are defending the idea of India. We are defending the vote, which is the expression of all Indians,” he said.
In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that due to incessant rain, the “public impeachment” of Gyanesh Kumar organised by the INDIA janbandhan has been rescheduled to October 31 at 2:30 PM.
This will be followed by the ‘Chalo Dilli’ Ramlila March on Sunday.
“The countdown to the exit of Gyanesh Kumar, who has so blatantly and brazenly subverted and sabotaged the Constitution of India on the instructions of the PM-HM duo, is accelerating,” Ramesh said.
Standing alongside Gandhi during the presser, TMC’s Derek O’Brien said the INDIA bloc is in this together.
“Civil society, students, youth, workers, housewives – we are all in this together. You heard what Mr Gandhi (Rahul Gandhi) and a representative of Mr Akhilesh Yadav said. I am representing Mamata Banerjee and the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).
The Shiv Sena, JMM, RSP, CPI, RJD, CPIM(L)and others. This is a political plus. We all are in this together and we will win together,” O’Brien said.
Representing the Samajwadi Party, MP Dharmendra Yadav said the public has realised that the victory that BJP boasts about is nothing but election manipulation and management. From EVMs to voter lists, everything is manipulated, he alleged.
“Through the results of the UP MLC elections, teachers and graduates have made it clear — how far behind BJP is in UP,” Yadav said.
Several INDIA bloc leaders such as Kharge, Gandhi, Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, TMC’s O’Brien and Mahua Moitra, SP’s Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Arvind Sawant, CPI(M)’s John Brittas, CPI’s P Sandosh Kumar, RJD’s Sanjay Yadav, RSP’s N K Premchandran, among others, held a meeting and discussed the INDIA bloc’s preparations for the protest.
INDIA bloc leaders had also met on Thursday to give the final shape to the proceedings, which are to be held at Kharge’s residence as a symbolic protest over the “vote chori” issue.
Sources said former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar will chair the INDIA bloc’s “public impeachment” of Gyanesh Kumar. While Kharge will move the ‘motion’ to impeach Gyanesh Kumar, Gandhi will make the concluding remarks before the ‘motion’ is passed.
Besides Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, one person from each party is likely to speak at the “public impeachment” of the CEC.
The Congress on Tuesday claimed it was denied permission to hold the “public impeachment” of the CEC and accused the government of trying to silence the voice of common people after “destroying” the electoral system.
The Congress and other opposition parties have been demanding the resignation of Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
