Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee (DKCC) will hold a protest rally in the city Monday against “partisan conduct” of the Election Commission of India (ECI), DKCC president Padmaraj R Poojary said Saturday.Addressing a press conference, Poojary alleged that chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had undermined democratic institutions by favouring one political party and disregarding objections raised by election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.“The ECI is the foundation of democracy and must safeguard the principle of one person, one vote,” Poojary said, claiming the two commissioners had raised 14 objections. He demanded Kumar’s resignation and sought a high-level inquiry by the central govt.The protest march will begin at 10.30am from Mahaveer (Pumpwell) Circle and proceed for around 2km before culminating at the deputy commissioner’s office. Poojary said more than 1,000 Congress workers and citizens are expected to participate.Referring to leader of opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, Poojary said that allegations concerning “vote chori” in elections in Maharashtra and Karnataka’s Mahadevapura constituency, Poojary said questions had also been raised about recent electoral outcomes in Bihar and West Bengal.Poojary also criticised former Mysuru MP Pratap Simha over his remarks on the state govt’s recognition of Tulu as the second official language. He said the move represented the cultural identity and pride of Tulunadu.“By asking what financial benefit the recognition would bring, Simha has hurt the sentiments of the people of the region,” Poojary said, demanding an apology and questioning the silence of local BJP legislators.On development, Poojary welcomed the cabinet meeting held in Mangaluru under chief minister DK Shivakumar, claiming that infrastructure projects worth Rs 16,000 crore had been approved for the district. He also highlighted measures allowing local panchayat development officers (PDOs) to issue 9/11 certificates for sites below 1,000sqmt and the proposed addition of 400 beds at wenlock district hospital.Criticising the centre over tax devolution, Poojary claimed Karnataka receives only 16 paise for every rupee contributed in taxes and questioned BJP MPs from the state over the issue.MLC Ivan D’Souza, former deputy mayor Purushotham Chitrapura, former corporator Ashok DK, Keshav Maroli, Yogish Kumar, Kiran Budle, K Ashraf, Satish Kandal, Hemanth Garodi and Shamsuddin Bunder were present.
