New Delhi: Activist Yogendra Yadav has announced that a mass protest will be held at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on October 2, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
On Monday, a delegation of activists, civil society members and opposition representatives submitted an intimation to the Delhi Police regarding a citizen protest at Jantar Mantar on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
Speaking to Reporter TV, Yadav alleged that the Election Commission was functioning illegally.
“The commission has officially admitted that meetings were conducted without any agenda or minutes. That itself makes it completely illegal. But they claimed that the decisions were taken unanimously. If so, they should show the minutes and signatures. Otherwise, all the decisions related to SIR were unconstitutional and illegal. Therefore, SIR needs to be scrapped. We should go back to the earlier voters' list,” he said.
Yadav also called for the removal of the two Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, and the impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
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He added that the Parliament Street police were yet to respond to their request seeking permission for the October 2 protest at Jantar Mantar.
“Jantar Mantar is the designated place where people can protest. Let's see whether police give permission or not,” he said.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan told Reporter TV that Gyanesh Kumar had deleted 13 crore names from the electoral roll to protect the interests of the BJP.
The claim that more than 13 crore names being excluded from draft electoral rolls during the SIR exercise has also been reported amid the ongoing controversy over the revision process. The Election Commission has maintained that the process follows legal procedures and has defended its decision-making process.
The activists' delegation announced the protest three days after Delhi Police detained several protesters, including Yadav, Bhattacharya and Neha, during an AISA-led demonstration at Jantar Mantar on September 25 over the same demand. Police had said no permission was sought for that protest.
"We call upon all friends of the democratic movement and concerned citizens to join the protest on Gandhi Jayanti and fight to save our democracy," organisers said.
India has been witnessing protests against Gyanesh Kumar after 'The Indian Express' reported that the two election commissioners objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders on SIR that they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
