NEW DELHI — Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah was among 10 INDIA bloc leaders who reached Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday to submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged electoral irregularities.
The delegation included Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, M.A. Baby, D. Raja, Rajeev Rai, Supriya Sule, Manoj Jha and Thol Thirumavalavan, besides Omar Abdullah, according to the news agency KNS.
The leaders proceeded to Rashtrapati Bhavan after police stopped an opposition march from Parliament at Vijay Chowk, where several MPs staged a sit-in.
The INDIA bloc is demanding Kumar’s removal, suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and wider electoral reforms, including a return to ballot papers.
Earlier, opposition leaders met at Samvidhan Sadan to discuss their strategy concerning alleged electoral manipulation and the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The Election Commission has maintained that its decisions are taken in accordance with established statutory procedures.
National Conference condemns reported detentions, restrictions
Meanwhile, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference strongly condemned the reported detention of young people across the country ahead of the October 10 protest in Delhi against the Election Commission.
The party also criticised reports of police announcements in mosques discouraging participation in the demonstration, cancellation of train services and heightened security measures in the national capital, describing them as contrary to democratic principles and constitutional rights.
In a statement, National Conference Additional General Secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Choudhary Mohammad Ramzan alleged that recent developments concerning electoral-roll revisions had raised serious questions about the BJP’s repeated electoral victories.
Ramzan claimed that approximately 9.7 million voters had been excluded from electoral rolls in West Bengal ahead of the elections and alleged that the deletions contributed to the defeat of the Trinamool Congress, despite pre-election assessments that had indicated a favourable outcome for the party.
He also claimed that the Election Commission had removed the names of 170 million voters across the country over several years, describing the alleged deletions as a serious concern for democratic participation.
The figures and the alleged connection between voter deletions and election results were assertions made by Ramzan and were not independently established in the supplied material.
He said the Election Commission had a responsibility to ensure that every eligible citizen who had attained the age of 18 was registered as a voter, and criticised what he described as the removal of eligible voters from electoral rolls.
Ramzan questions Election Commission’s credibility
Ramzan said recent developments concerning the Election Commission had raised questions about its credibility and noted that related issues were also being considered by the Supreme Court.
Referring to proceedings concerning Form 6, he said the Court’s observations raised concerns about claims regarding permission for decisions linked to electoral-roll revision.
He argued that any attempt to invoke the Supreme Court’s authority incorrectly to support decisions favouring a particular political party would be a matter of serious concern.
The National Conference leader called for Kumar’s resignation, contending that the credibility of an institution responsible for safeguarding the electoral process had been undermined.
His remarks came amid continuing opposition protests over alleged voter deletions and the functioning of the poll panel. The Supreme Court has separately sought responses from the Centre and election authorities in proceedings concerning aspects of the Commission’s decision-making, without making a final determination on the allegations.
NC criticises measures ahead of October 10 demonstration
Ramzan also condemned the reported detention of people ahead of the protest scheduled for October 10, along with alleged attempts to discourage participation, restrictions affecting railway and Metro services, and the deployment of security personnel across Delhi.
He said the Constitution guaranteed citizens the right to peaceful protest and accused those in power of resorting to what he described as undemocratic methods to prevent the demonstration.
The National Conference further criticised restrictions imposed on opposition MPs and other political leaders during recent protests, with Ramzan arguing that the treatment of elected representatives raised concerns about the position of ordinary citizens seeking to exercise their democratic rights.
The proposed demonstration is part of the wider opposition campaign seeking Kumar’s removal and changes to the electoral-roll revision process.
The Election Commission’s position remains that its decisions are governed by the applicable statutory framework, while the allegations raised by opposition parties remain contested.
