The Congress has called for a large protest march in Delhi on Monday demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. INDIA bloc leaders, workers and citizens have been invited to join, while a senior delegation is expected to submit a memorandum to the Chief Justice of India.
Mamata Banerjee is confirmed to attend the march. Delhi Police detained her and several other opposition leaders during Saturday’s demonstrations, including former chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Pinarayi Vijayan and Manik Sarkar. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, Left leader Brinda Karat, CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, activist Yogendra Yadav and lawyer Prashant Bhushan were also detained and later released.
Banerjee said she had cancelled her flight to Kolkata after Rahul Gandhi asked her to remain in Delhi. She described the detentions as unjustified and urged people to remain calm. Abhishek Banerjee is also due to travel to Delhi on Monday.
The opposition’s demands include Kumar’s removal and withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, which it says has removed millions of voters. The dispute has brought the otherwise divided INDIA bloc together around the poll-roll issue.
A delegation including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Banerjee, Gandhi, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and other opposition leaders met President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to raise allegations of vote theft and demand Kumar’s resignation. The Election Commission has said its decisions over the past year were unanimous, adding that differing views during institutional deliberations are normal.