NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Monday stepped up his attack on the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over its demand for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, saying the outfit should instead seek Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s resignation.CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka, however, reiterated that the organisation would not withdraw its demand for Kumar’s resignation over what it describes as the alleged exclusion of voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.Speaking at the Pratidin Time Conclave, Kejriwal said, “First, you demanded the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan. Now you are demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. I say, go ahead and directly demand the boss’s resignation. Everything is happening at his behest.”“Now the movement should be for Modi’s resignation. Whatever the CEC did, he did it for “his boss”, not for himself,” he added.
CJP sticks to demand for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation
Ashutosh Ranka on Monday asserted that CJP would not back down from its demand for Kumar’s resignation. He also challenged the CEC to address publicly the allegations levelled against him.CJP had on September 24 demanded Kumar’s resignation within 48 hours, accusing him of undermining voters’ rights and warning of a nationwide agitation if he did not step down.The organisation also announced its ‘Election Commission Thik Karo’ campaign.The outfit said its campaign would focus on what it alleged was the exclusion of more than 13 crore names from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union territories during the SIR exercise.A separate petition in the Supreme Court has also raised an allegation concerning the deletion of around 13 crore voters, while the Election Commission has maintained that decisions relating to SIR were unanimous.
CJP plans nationwide agitation
CJP had warned that it would launch a nationwide agitation if Kumar did not resign within its 48-hour deadline. The organisation has since reiterated plans for a nationwide campaign, with Mumbai chosen as the starting point for an October 2 protest.The organisation has also demanded a halt to the SIR exercise, restoration of the January 2025 electoral rolls pending verification and an independent investigation into decisions taken during the revision process.The Election Commission has rejected the contention that decisions relating to SIR were taken unilaterally, saying all such decisions were unanimous and approved by the full commission.(With PTI inputs)
