New Delhi: Communist Party of India (CPI) members protested against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar in New Delhi on Tuesday. The protesters formed a human chain and demanded the cancellation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and the Chief Election Commissioner’s resignation.
Speaking to news agency IANS, CPI National General Secretary D. Raja said that the party, along with other constituents of the INDIA alliance and various mass and labour organizations, has intensified its campaign against SIR. He alleged that concerns regarding the deletion of genuine voters’ names from the electoral rolls have not yet been addressed.
D. Raja said, “As a constituent of the INDIA alliance, our party is intensifying this campaign across the country. Our party and other mass and class organizations are also organizing protests and campaigns across the country, as genuine issues exist.”
D. Raja said, “We will intensify the movement by going among the people.”
The CPI General Secretary alleged that Gyanesh Kumar should have resigned from his post, but he did not. He stated that the party has approached the President and the Supreme Court regarding this matter, but no solution has yet been found.
D. Raja said, “We have approached the President and filed a petition in the Supreme Court, but nothing is happening. In such a situation, the only way forward is to go among the people, organize them, and intensify the campaign and struggle.”
He said that the CPI has decided to campaign independently and strengthen the protests by forming a human chain in the national capital.
D. Raja said that the party will await the Supreme Court’s response. He also alleged that the names of approximately 140 million voters have been removed from the electoral rolls under the SIR process. He also accused the Election Commission of failing to fulfill its constitutional obligations.
CPI reiterates demands for cancellation of SIR and removal of CEC
CPI National Secretary Girish Chandra Sharma also reiterated the party’s demands, demanding the cancellation of the SIR process and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar from his post.
Sharma said, “Abolish SIR and remove Gyanesh Kumar from his post. Besides these two major demands, there are also issues related to farmers, laborers, youth, unemployment, education, and health. But these two demands are the main reason for the discontent across the country.”
He questioned why Gyanesh Kumar had not resigned despite widespread public discontent. He also criticized the Election Commission for not canceling the voter list revision process.
Sharma said that various democratic and leftist organizations are participating in the protests against SIR. These include the All India Students Federation (AISF), All India Youth Federation (AIYF), and National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW).
CPI MP raises questions about Form-6
Meanwhile, CPI MP P. Sandosh Kumar raised questions about Form-6 being used in the revision of the voter list. He argued that filling in the prescribed columns in this form is mandatory and without them the application process cannot proceed.
He said, “Form-6 was mandatory because no one can proceed without filling these columns. Therefore, to say that the form was not mandatory is not correct.”
The MP further stated that whether the decision was taken unanimously or by majority, according to him, does not absolve the alleged violation of the Electoral Registration Rules, 1960.
He said, “So, whether they took this decision unanimously or by majority, it does not absolve them of their responsibility.”
CPI leaders clarified that the party will continue its campaign against the SIR process and mobilize people on the issue of deletions from the voter list.