Gandhinagar, October 6 (Daily Kiran) : Former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela criticized the Election Commission and its Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, on Tuesday. This statement came as opposition MPs protested against the “Special Intensive Review” (SIR) of the voter list in New Delhi.
The protests were led by Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, along with members of the India bloc, who marched from Parliament to the Election Commission headquarters. They demanded the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and expressed concerns regarding the SIR process.
Police halted the march near the NITI Aayog area, temporarily detaining several opposition leaders, including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, before releasing them shortly after.
The opposition is calling for a review of the SIR process and the reinstatement of names removed from the voter list. The India bloc announced the march on October 6 as part of its broader “Save Democracy” campaign, which includes protests nationwide and a major rally scheduled for November 1 in New Delhi.
Vaghela accused the Election Commission of favoring the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and raised questions about its impartiality. He claimed that the SIR process and previous elections have provided political advantages to the BJP.
He also criticized the increasing influence of ideology and political affiliations on constitutional institutions. Commenting on the detention of opposition leaders during the protests, Vaghela noted that political leaders from various generations have faced arrests during public movements and protests.
He emphasized that democratic dissent and protests are integral to public life and should be viewed through that lens. Vaghela called for greater scrutiny and transparency in appointments to constitutional positions.
He suggested that retiring judges, IAS, and IPS officers, as well as other senior government officials, should undergo a “cooling-off period” before taking on new government roles.
At 86, Vaghela has had a long political career, having been associated with various parties and ideologies. He began as an RSS propagator and later joined the Janata Party and the BJP.
After rebelling against the BJP in 1995, he became the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 1996 with Congress’s support. He later joined Congress, served as a Lok Sabha MP, and held the position of Minister of Textiles in the UPA government. Vaghela left Congress in 2017 and has since created and joined various political organizations.
Currently, he is in talks about a potential return to Congress, with party leaders confirming that discussions are ongoing.
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