Addressing a press conference after the INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi on Wednesday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the programme would also include a meeting of the Leaders of the Opposition with the President of India and five big rallies. He said the leaders would highlight the problems created by a government that he claimed was formed through “vote chori”.
Also read: Old voter rolls, ballot papers, more EC transparency: Congress chief Kharge lays out INDIA bloc’s election demands
Kharge said the discussion continued for at least three to three-and-a-half hours and that everyone took part. He added that Uddhav Thackeray and Hemant Soren joined online. “I am happy that everyone unanimously agreed to fight together, unitedly and strongly,” he said.
Four-point programme
Kharge said the bloc would hold district-level ‘Save Democracy’ marches and stage demonstrations outside the offices of every District Magistrate from October 2 to 8. “We will also make people aware of why we are undertaking this campaign,” he said.
On October 6, all Opposition MPs will march to the Election Commission. Kharge said the leaders had wanted to go on Wednesday itself, but decided to call the MPs again and organise the protest properly. “All Rajya Sabha members and Members of Parliament, irrespective of which party they belong to, and those who want to protect democracy in the country, will be invited to join this march,” he said.The third programme is a meeting with the President. Kharge said the Leaders of the Opposition would seek an appointment with the President in the second week of October. They will submit a representation on the difficulties they are facing and the constitutional hurdles involved.
The fourth programme will include five big rallies. Kharge said the dates and venues would be decided and communicated to everyone.
Rahul Gandhi on INDIA bloc’s commitment
Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said all Opposition leaders were collective defenders of India’s Constitution and would bring serious changes in the country. He said the INDIA bloc would ensure that those who had destroyed Indian democracy were punished.
“It is the personal commitment of all INDIA leaders that we are going to ensure that the people who have destroyed Indian democracy are punished,” Gandhi said after the meeting. “It doesn’t matter how senior they are, who they are; Indian democracy is bigger than every single person in this country.”
Gandhi said there was a feeling in the room that the Opposition had been quite successful in conveying to the people that elections are stolen and that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah have destroyed democracy. He said there was “a new sense of resistance, particularly among young people, that what is going on in India is wrong and needs to be stopped”.
Mamata Banerjee targets CEC
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee alleged that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was involved in “vote chori” and rigging of polls. She demanded that he resign immediately.
Banerjee said the INDIA alliance was united and stood together against what she called this “big scam” of “vote chori”.
Demands on electoral rolls
Speaking at the meeting, Kharge urged the INDIA bloc to push for the use of electoral rolls prepared before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in future elections. He also demanded greater transparency in the revision of voter lists.
He said the bloc would oppose any move that weakened transparency in the electoral process and would not allow the Republic’s principle of one person, one vote, one value to be weakened. He also sought constituency-wise and booth-wise disclosure of additions, deletions and corrections made in every electoral-roll revision.
Kharge said voters should get prior notice, reasons for proposed deletions and access to an effective appeal mechanism before their names are removed from the rolls. He called for safeguards against eligible voters being excluded because of administrative failures, insufficient documentation or lack of awareness. He also sought simple voter registration for young citizens, particularly first-time voters.
He called for greater institutional accountability from the Election Commission and said the Opposition should demand a poll body that commands confidence across the political spectrum.
Call for ballot paper voting
Kharge also backed a return to ballot paper voting instead of electronic voting machines, linking the demand to his call for transparency and voter confidence.
“The ballot belongs to the people, and the mandate belongs to the people,” he said. He added that the Opposition’s task was to ensure that the people of India remain the final and unquestioned authority in the country’s democracy.
Kharge urged Opposition parties to leave the meeting with a joint programme of action. “The INDIA parties must stand together when the fundamental democratic right of citizens is at stake,” he said.
The meeting came amid a continuing controversy over the Election Commission’s handling of the nationwide SIR of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have stepped up demands for greater scrutiny of the revisions and of the functioning of the poll body.
The Election Commission has rejected suggestions of a split within the three-member Commission. It has said differences of opinion and observations are part of normal internal deliberations and that decisions relating to the SIR were taken unanimously. The Commission has also said its orders and administrative directions carry legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.
Mamata Banerjee and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav attended the meeting. Former Congress presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were present, along with Congress general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal.
Leaders from the Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI(M), NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT) also attended.
