INDIA bloc to march on ECI, says fight against SIR, CEC will persist
The INDIA bloc on Wednesday announced a protest march to the Election Commission of India (ECI) office on October 6, amid the row over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and allegations of differences within the poll panel. It also doubled down on its demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and said it will not relent until his ouster.
The meeting was attended by Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, besides TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, and Left leaders. Others, including Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM chief Hemant Soren, participated online, as they could not be physically present. While the DMK and the AAP skipped the meeting, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav did not attend because of nominations for Rajya Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The BJP, meanwhile, claimed that the INDIA bloc is crumbling and its leaders have rejected Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s leadership after the SP supremo and some other leaders skipped the alliance’s meeting. The ruling party said the outcomes of the INDIA bloc meeting were “zero vision, 100 per cent frustration, and an advance excuse for poll defeats”.
“The INDI Alliance fell apart even before the meeting took place. The DMK did not attend the meeting. Akhilesh was busy elsewhere. The AAP had already declined,” Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said at a Press conference at the BJP headquarters. “No matter how many times they (Congress) try to re-launch Rahul Gandhi, the INDIA bloc does not consider him their leader,” he said.
Congress asserted that the Opposition stands united to protect the Constitution from “repeated assaults” of the Government led by the BJP, including its “<vote chori></i> game plan” to remain in power.
