Maharashtra Congress Launches Statewide Protest Against Election Commission
The Maharashtra Congress plans a statewide protest on September 28, demanding the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner amid allegations of bias.
Mumbai, September 26 (Daily Kiran) : The Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) has intensified its confrontation with the Election Commission of India (ECI) by announcing a statewide protest on September 28. The party is demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of acting in a biased manner to benefit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and undermining democratic institutions.
This announcement comes amid rising political tensions following allegations of widespread “vote theft” made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. The party claims these allegations are supported by reports of internal dissent within the Election Commission, where other commissioners have reportedly raised concerns about procedural irregularities. Central to the party’s criticism is the controversial Special Intensive Review (SIR) process.
The MPCC alleges that this SIR process has resulted in the removal of over 3 million eligible voters from Maharashtra’s electoral rolls. Congress claims that across the country, 130 million voters have been disenfranchised. They highlight that while the number of voters in Maharashtra increased by 4.7 million ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, the Election Commission has failed to verify the status of these new voters. Similar allegations have surfaced in other non-BJP-ruled states, including West Bengal and Bihar, regarding the removal of legitimate voters’ names.
MPCC president Harshvardhan Sapkal stated in an official release, “Removing the names of valid and eligible voters from the electoral rolls is a direct attack on the Constitution. The arbitrary behavior of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar is a direct assault on Indian democracy.”
The planned protest follows media reports revealing that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have formally registered dissent on at least 14 occasions over decisions made during the implementation of the SIR process in the past ten months.
