Ferozepur: Thousands of Congress workers staged a protest in Punjab’s Ferozepur on Monday, demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over allegations concerning the functioning of the Election Commission and the revision of electoral rolls.
The protesters also burnt effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and CEC Gyanesh Kumar during the demonstration.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring accused the CEC of “subverting and sabotaging” the electoral process and alleged that crores of voters had been disenfranchised through deletions from electoral rolls.
Warring cited Bihar, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana while raising questions about electoral roll revisions and alleged discrepancies between election outcomes and what he described as ground-level public sentiment.
Congress Raises Allegations Over SIR and Voter Rolls
Warring alleged that the Election Commission under Gyanesh Kumar was acting in favour of the BJP and RSS by deleting names of voters whom he claimed were opposed to them.
He also referred to recent reports concerning objections raised by Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi over aspects of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
An investigation published by The Indian Express reported that the two Election Commissioners had formally raised objections on at least 14 occasions over a 10-month period regarding various decisions and processes linked to electoral rolls.
However, the Election Commission has said that its decisions, including those related to SIR, were unanimous and had the approval of all three Election Commissioners. The poll body has described differing views and internal observations as part of its normal decision-making process.
Warring Warns Over Punjab Electoral Rolls
Warring urged Congress workers in Punjab to remain alert regarding changes to electoral rolls and alleged that the SIR exercise could result in voter deletions in the state.
He claimed that around 20 lakh names had been deleted from Punjab’s electoral rolls so far, and said the number could increase further. These figures and allegations were made by Warring at the protest and have not been independently established in the material provided.
The Congress has previously staged protests in Punjab over the Election Commission and SIR. On September 26, Punjab Congress workers protested in Chandigarh, demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s removal and raising concerns over the electoral-roll revision process.
Warring Targets Punjab Government
The Punjab Congress chief also criticised the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the state, alleging that the AAP and BJP were “two sides of the same coin”.
He accused the state government of weakening democratic institutions and alleged that political criminalisation was increasing in Punjab.
Warring also criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann over the allocation of ministerial bungalows, alleging that 10 government residences had been allotted to unauthorised people from Delhi and Rajasthan while ministers were staying in guest houses.
The allegations made by Warring at the protest are part of the ongoing political confrontation over the Election Commission, SIR and electoral-roll revisions. The Election Commission has maintained that its SIR-related decisions were taken unanimously.