NEW DELHI: Top INDIA bloc leaders will meet in Delhi on September 30 to discuss the issue concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The gathering follows consultations involving Mamata Banerjee, the Congress leadership and MA Baby with other bloc parties.
Former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to the top leadership of the Congress over issues concerning Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, sources said, as consultations among INDIA bloc parties continue to build momentum for a meeting on September 30.
Top sources said the INDIA bloc is set to hold a meeting in New Delhi on September 30 at the Constitution Club of India (CCI). All top leaders of the opposition bloc are expected to attend the meeting. However, the names of the INDIA bloc leaders who will attend have not yet been confirmed.
Opposition INDIA bloc parties are likely to discuss concerns over the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, besides other issues, sources said.
The proposed meeting comes amid increased coordination among opposition parties over the Election Commission following reports of differences within the poll panel over aspects of the SIR exercise. The parties have been in touch with each other on the issue and are discussing a joint response, sources added.
Consultations had been underway among INDIA bloc parties to hold an early meeting, and the plan has now materialised. The meeting will focus on the issues concerning CEC Gyanesh Kumar, including the opposition’s concerns over the SIR exercise.
Trinamool Congress’s top leadership, including Abhishek Banerjee, has also spoken to Congress Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi over Gyanesh Kumar. Abhishek Banerjee and Rahul Gandhi held a telephonic conversation earlier this week regarding Gyanesh Kumar and alleged electoral irregularities.
Meanwhile, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby has been speaking to other INDIA bloc parties as part of the consultations. Baby had written to INDIA bloc and other opposition leaders seeking a meeting over the developments and subsequently spoke to Mamata Banerjee, who agreed that the situation warranted coordinated action.
TMC, CPI(M) COME TOGETHER OVER EC ISSUE
The developments have also brought West Bengal’s political rivals, the TMC and CPI(M), together on the Election Commission issue. The Left parties have sought broader opposition coordination over the SIR exercise, while Mamata Banerjee has responded positively to the outreach.
The CPI(M), CPI and CPI(ML)-Liberation have demanded the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and an immediate halt to the SIR, while the Congress has also stepped up its attack on Kumar. The Congress Working Committee is scheduled to meet on September 29 to discuss its strategy on the issue.
The September 30 meeting is being planned specifically around the issues concerning CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission. Sources said a joint press conference by opposition leaders is also being planned after the INDIA bloc meeting.
The proposed joint press conference is aimed at taking up the issue concerning Gyanesh Kumar and the opposition’s concerns over the Election Commission. Sources said efforts are being made to raise the issues of Gyanesh Kumar’s ouster and criminal proceedings “in a big way”.
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