New Delhi: The INDIA bloc has postponed its planned 'public impeachment' of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to Saturday, October 31, due to rain in the national capital, while asserting that the Opposition remains united in its fight against alleged vote theft.
The symbolic protest programme will be held at 3.30 pm at 10, Rajaji Marg, the residence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. The Opposition grouping has also called for a march to Ramlila Maidan on November 1, inviting political parties, civil society members, students, youth, workers, journalists and other citizens to participate.
Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi announced the postponement at a joint press conference with INDIA bloc leaders outside Kharge's residence on Friday. He said the decision was taken by consensus to avoid inconveniencing senior leaders who would otherwise have had to sit in the rain.
"By consensus, we have decided to postpone today's programme to tomorrow because of rain. We felt that it would be uncomfortable for seniors to sit in the rain, and we would do the exact same programme tomorrow," Gandhi said.
He described the planned demonstrations as a united Opposition campaign to defend citizens' voting rights and the Constitution, rejecting the suggestion that they were separate protests.
"This is not multiple protests. This is one protest. The entire Opposition is standing here. Anybody who wants to protest, any person, is welcome to come here. We are all standing here because we are defending the Constitution; we are defending the idea of India. We are defending the vote, which is the expression of all Indians," he said.
Gandhi also alleged that the Union Home Minister was attempting to prevent people from other states from travelling to Delhi to attend the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan.
He claimed that party workers and ordinary citizens were being stopped from reaching the national capital and said the turnout at the rally would reflect public sentiment.
Gandhi alleged that millions of people were being disenfranchised and their votes stolen to benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and industrialists Gautam Adani and Mukesh Ambani, among others.
"The vote is your identity, it is the fundamental architecture of your citizenship. You are protected by it and it is your duty to protect it," he said.
The INDIA bloc's protests are directed against what the Opposition describes as 'vote chori', the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and the functioning of the Election Commission. Opposition parties have previously held marches and sit-in protests, met President Droupadi Murmu and submitted a petition to the Supreme Court over the issue.
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X that the 'public impeachment' programme had been rescheduled to October 31 due to incessant rain. He claimed that the countdown to Kumar's exit was accelerating, accusing the CEC of undermining the Constitution at the direction of the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
Ramesh also criticised the BJP ecosystem for organising a mock Parliament, alleging that the government had repeatedly undermined parliamentary institutions and denied debates on important issues.
Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien, who represented the party at the press conference, said the INDIA bloc was united in the campaign and that civil society members, students, workers and ordinary citizens were part of the movement.
Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav alleged that the BJP's electoral victories were the result of manipulation, claiming that electronic voting machines and voter lists were being tampered with.
According to sources, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar is expected to chair the symbolic 'public impeachment' programme. Kharge is likely to move the motion against the CEC, while Rahul Gandhi is expected to deliver the concluding remarks. One representative from each INDIA bloc party is also likely to speak.
Several Opposition leaders, including Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, TMC leaders Derek O'Brien and Mahua Moitra, Samajwadi Party's Dharmendra Yadav, Shiv Sena (UBT)'s Arvind Sawant, CPI(M)'s John Brittas, CPI's P Sandosh Kumar and RJD's Sanjay Yadav, attended discussions on the protest.
The Congress had earlier alleged that it was denied permission to hold the programme and accused the government of attempting to silence public voices over the electoral system.
(With agency inputs from ANI and PTI)
