The Congress will prominently raise its demand for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at the INDIA bloc's rally in Delhi on November 1, Haryana Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt and state unit president Rao Narendra Singh said on Saturday, according to news agency Press Trust of India.
The leaders said the integrity of electoral rolls, transparency in the electoral process and the protection of every eligible citizen's right to vote were fundamental to the country's democracy. They said the Congress would not compromise on these issues.
Dutt and Singh said the Congress's nationwide 'Vote Bachao Desh Bachao' campaign was entering a decisive phase. Organisational preparations have been intensified across Haryana to take the campaign to every district, block, village and polling booth.
Party workers have been directed to document alleged discrepancies in electoral rolls, spread awareness about the rights of eligible voters and ensure large participation from Haryana in the November 1 rally, they told PTI.
The INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan has been described as the culmination of the 'Delhi Chalo' march against alleged irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The Congress has said at least 10 lakh people are expected to march against what it calls 'vote chori'. The party said the rally would send a strong message of unity to protect democracy and the Constitution.
Questioning the role of the chief election commissioner, Dutt said ensuring transparency and impartiality in the electoral process was a constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission. He said concerns over the possible deletion of eligible citizens' names and discrepancies reported during the revision of electoral rolls must be taken seriously.
Dutt and Singh said the Congress believed that questions about the alleged lack of impartiality in the electoral process could not be adequately addressed as long as Kumar remained in office. They said his removal was therefore necessary.
They added that if an investigation found him responsible for undermining the democratic system or violating the law, appropriate legal action, including arrest, should follow.
Dutt said the 'Vote Bachao Desh Bachao' rally was part of a national movement to protect citizens' voting rights, strengthen democracy and ensure accountability on the part of the BJP government.
'The right to vote is the foundation of democracy. Protecting every citizen's vote is equivalent to safeguarding the Constitution and the people's mandate,' he said.
'Our fight is not for any individual or political party alone, but to protect the constitutional right of every citizen to elect their government through free and fair elections,' he added.
Congress general secretary for organisation KC Venugopal chaired a meeting of Haryana Congress leaders and office-bearers at Indira Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday. Preparations for the rally were reviewed at the meeting, Dutt told PTI.
The Congress is now expanding its campaign across Haryana while preparing for the November 1 rally, where it plans to focus on electoral roll concerns, voting rights and its demand for the chief election commissioner's removal.
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