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Congress calls CWC meeting on Election Commission row; Kharge repeats demand for CEC’s resignation

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The opposition’s confrontation with the Election Commission of India (ECI) is set to sharpen this week. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has convened a Congress CWC meeting on the Election Commission for Tuesday, 29 September, to discuss reported internal differences within the commission, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and recent changes to Form 6.

Congress calls CWC meeting on Election Commission row; Kharge repeats demand for CEC’s resignation
India's new Parliament Building in New Delhi. Photo: Government of India (GODL-India).

Kharge’s demand

Kharge repeated the party’s demand that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar step down. “Gyanesh Kumar should resign,” he said, adding that action should be taken “even after resignation”. Congress units have held protest marches in Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh. The demand builds on the stand we reported in our story on the opposition’s Form 6 objections.

National Voters Day posters outside the Election Commission
National Voters' Day posters outside the Election Commission. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).

INDIA bloc to meet on Wednesday

Leaders of the INDIA bloc are scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 30 September, and may consider moving another notice in Parliament seeking the CEC’s removal. Removing a CEC requires a process similar to that for a Supreme Court judge, including a special majority in both Houses, which the opposition does not command on its own.

What the dispute is about

Critics say the SIR has led to large-scale exclusions from draft rolls. Local media reports cited in a Reuters explainer put the number left out of first drafts nationwide at around 130 million, including 6.5 million in Bihar, while about 13% of entries were deleted in Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court has flagged concerns over “machine generated” notices. The commission says its decisions are unanimous and that revisions are meant to clean up rolls. Trade unions and farm groups have also joined the demand, as we noted in our report on the SKM and unions. More detail is in The Hindu.

Barricades during a protest sit-in
Barricades at a protest sit-in. Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Hand placing a ballot paper into a ballot box
A voter places a ballot into a ballot box. Photo: Pexels (free license).
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  1. Pingback: INDIA Bloc Sets Marches, Demands Paper Ballots | 30 Sep

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