A 10-member INDIA bloc delegation on Friday urged President Droupadi Murmu to seek the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, suspend the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restore 13.30 crore voters whom the Opposition alleges were illegally deleted from voter lists.
The delegation, led by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, submitted a memorandum to the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan, alleging widespread electoral irregularities and manipulation of electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter rolls.
Speaking after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said President Murmu had asked the delegation to provide evidence supporting its allegations of “vote chori”. He said the Opposition would submit the material when she was available.
Gandhi described the meeting as satisfactory and said the INDIA bloc would approach the Supreme Court on October 12 with a memorandum for Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
In its memorandum, the Opposition alleged that elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal had been “stolen” through electoral roll manipulation and EVM-related irregularities. These claims were presented by the delegation and were not established findings.
The memorandum outlined four principal demands: the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar and repeal of the 2023 law governing the appointment and service conditions of election commissioners; immediate suspension of SIR and restoration of the allegedly deleted 13.30 crore voters; a return to paper ballots; and repeal of Assembly elections held over the preceding two years in which the Opposition claims it has evidence of electoral malpractice.
The delegation argued that the right to vote under Article 326 of the Constitution was central to representative democracy and called for greater accountability from the Election Commission. It also accused the CEC of misleading the Supreme Court in connection with alleged electoral wrongdoing.
The other delegation members included Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule, CPI-M general secretary M.A. Baby, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI general secretary D. Raja, Samajwadi Party MP Rajeev Rai and VCK president Thirumaavalavan Tholkappiyan.
Kharge said the President had listened patiently as the leaders explained their concerns and the agitation launched over the alleged vote theft and the functioning of the Election Commission.
Banerjee said President Murmu had indicated that she would examine the memorandum and had sought supporting evidence. The Opposition leaders said they would provide it.
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