‘We will keep fighting, throw these thieves out’: Kharge as INDIA bloc protests against ECI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the Opposition would continue its campaign to “save democracy” as INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament towards the Election Commission of India (ECI) headquarters on Tuesday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

“This is a fight; we will keep fighting, and we will throw these thieves out. We are fully determined to save democracy, and we are fighting for democracy and nothing else,” Kharge said during the protest.

The MPs, carrying Tricolours and banners with messages including “Save Democracy”, raised slogans against the CEC, BJP and RSS. The march was stopped before the ECI headquarters, following which Kharge, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and other leaders staged a dharna.

The protest came a day after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant clarified during a Supreme Court hearing that the apex court had not approved any modified version of Form 6, the statutory form used for voter enrolment. The court has sought the Election Commission’s records to determine who authorised the changes.

Congress leader Supriya Shrinate alleged that changes to Form 6 had been made arbitrarily and questioned the ECI’s claim that the changes had Supreme Court approval. Her remarks followed the CJI’s clarification.

The Opposition has also been demanding the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Congress MP Ranjeet Ranjan said the bloc’s three key demands were CEC Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, cancellation of SIR and a return to ballot-paper voting.

Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy said the Opposition was not concerned by the BJP’s defence of the CEC, while Congress leader Ragini Nayak said the protest was aimed at protecting the democratic process and the Constitution.

Several Opposition leaders, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee, participated in the demonstration.

Delhi Police and other security personnel were deployed, with barricades put up around the ECI office. The DMK and Aam Aadmi Party did not participate in the march. The decision for the October 6 protest was taken at a September 30 meeting of Opposition parties.

The Election Commission has defended its position on the Form 6 controversy, while the Supreme Court has not passed any final finding against the CEC. The court has sought records and issued notices in the matter.