New Delhi, October 9 (Daily Kiran) : On October 9, leaders from the India bloc met with President Droupadi Murmu in New Delhi to express their concerns regarding the electoral process, voter lists, and voting arrangements. During the meeting, they submitted a memorandum alleging that the country’s electoral system and democratic framework are being undermined, affecting the voting rights of millions.
The opposition parties claimed that significant irregularities have occurred in various state assembly and other elections. They accused the authorities of tampering with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and voter lists, raising serious questions about the integrity of the electoral process.
In their memorandum, the India alliance outlined four key demands. They called for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the repeal of a law enacted in 2023 that grants lifetime legal protection to the Chief Election Commissioner and election commissioners. Additionally, they demanded an immediate halt to the Special Intensive Review (SIR) campaign and the reinstatement of the names of 13.3 crore voters allegedly removed from the voter lists.
The memorandum also called for all elections to be conducted using paper ballots and for the annulment of assembly elections held in the last two years that, according to the opposition, had decisive evidence of vote theft.
The document addressed to the President emphasized that the right to vote is the cornerstone of representative democracy under Article 326 of the Indian Constitution, and that the Election Commission is its protector, not its master. It urged that democratic institutions must be made accountable and that transparency in the electoral process should be ensured.
The delegation included prominent leaders such as Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, MP Supriya Sule, CPI(M) leader M.A. Baby, RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, CPI General Secretary D. Raja, SP leader Rajiv Rai, and VCK leader Thirumavalavan Tholakapian.
Opposition leaders appealed to the President to take cognizance of the matter as the guardian of the Constitution and to take necessary steps to protect democratic rights.
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