New Delhi, October 28—Even as the Congress today held nationwide protest pressing for Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign, CJP’s Ashutosh Ranka also mounted further pressure by renewing organisation’s call for his stepping down, citing its allegations over the removal of around 13 crore names from electoral rolls.
Accusing Kumar of having “defrauded” 13 crore people through the removal of their names from the electoral rolls and questioned the BJP’s decision to “defend” the poll panel chief over the issue, Ranka also challenged Kumar to address the allegations publicly, calling for the CEC to respond before the media and citizens.
Ranka said the organisation would continue to press for Kumar’s resignation and would not withdraw the demand.
Meanwhile, Congress workers took to the streets across several states on Monday, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
“This protest is ongoing across the country. The CEC deceived this country; election mandates are being stolen. SIR is completely illegal,” Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said.
“For an amendment to Form 6, it needs to be brought to Parliament. But it wasn’t done. So, SIR becomes illegal. If SIR is illegal, all additions and deletions are illegal,” he alleged.
“There is outrage across the country. Everyone wants to protest. Gyanesh Kumar should be sacked to save the country,” Khera added.
The protests were held in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Telangana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Jharkhand. Water cannons were used against protesters in some places, while party workers burnt effigies and raised slogans demanding Kumar’s resignation elsewhere.
Earlier, CJP leader Ranka said: “For 48 hours, the ball was in Kumar’s court; now it is in CJP’s court. We will start our nationwide protest on October 2, and we won’t back down till he resigns. CJP is a platform which, if it gets involved in any matter, doesn’t let go of it until we win”.
On September 24, the CJP demanded Kumar’s resignation for allegedly “undermining” voter rights and warned of a nationwide agitation, including “Jantar Mantar 2.0”, if he did not step down within 48 hours.
Launching what it called the ‘Election Commission Thik Karo’ campaign, the youth-led outfit said the campaign would focus on the alleged exclusion of more than 13 crore names from draft electoral rolls across 30 states and Union territories during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
On the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) reportedly not being granted permission for its October 2 protest in Mumbai, Ranka said, “Who gave permission to Kumar to remove the names, fraudulently redraw constituencies in Assam? The ‘netas’ and Kumar-type people are destroying democracy. Who has given them permission for such acts?”
“This is democracy, and all can vote; and we will ensure it,” the CJP leader said.
Ranka alleged that the delimitation of constituencies in Assam was carried out in a manner that benefited the ruling BJP-led dispensation and claimed that “people of one village were able to vote in three Assembly constituencies to help (Chief Minister) Himanta Biswa Sarma win”.
Ranka further claimed that the BJP was “defending” the CEC and the Election Commission over the “vote chori” allegations and questioned why the poll panel had remained silent.
“As far as I remember, EC is an independent democratic institution and not a BJP wing. Why is BJP defending Kumar? Let him take Rajya Sabha membership from the BJP,” Ranka said.
“Or, if Kumar has the slightest respect for democracy left, let him come on record in a press conference and tell the public that the findings of The Indian Express report were correct or wrong,” he added.
The newspaper had reported that questions were repeatedly raised on issues related to the SIR of electoral rolls within the three-member EC by the two election commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi.
Ranka alleged that the ruling regime had adopted an “arrogant mindset” and was treating the youth as “insects and cockroaches”, cautioning that Gen Z would “reply in its own language”.
Ashutosh Ranka on Monday said the outfit was seeking to expand its base across the Northeastern states and had been receiving positive responses.
He said the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) would focus on issues concerning students and youth in the region and provide them a platform to raise their concerns.
“The CJP will reach out to all Northeast states, and the response has been good so far. The Northeast is important for us,” Ranka said, a day after Assam Police detained him and more than 40 other CJP members for around 10 hours ahead of a volunteers’ meet-up here.
Ranka said people in the Northeast were looking for a platform that would take up issues concerning students and youth, and the CJP would offer that alternative.
On Sunday’s police action, the CJP co-founder reiterated that it was “completely illegal”, claiming that they were picked up from private property.
The CJP leaders and volunteers were picked up from Chowdhury Tila, opposite the state secretariat at Dispur, which is the residence of Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) leader Kunki Chowdhury.
They were released late on Sunday evening.
“When we asked police on what basis we were being detained, they said that ‘Sir, we have orders from the top’. They could give us no reason,” Ranka claimed.
“All was controlled from the top. The government was trying to bully us, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was trying to frighten us…but the more you try to douse, the more the revolution will spread,” the CJP leader said.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
