CJI should not behave like BJP member: Karnataka Congress chief

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 Karnataka Congress President B. K. Hariprasad on Monday said that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant should not behave like a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but should ensure that justice prevails in the country. 

This comes following a request by INDIA bloc leaders to meet the CJI. However, the CJI declined to meet, advising them to approach the court through a petition instead, ahead of their planned march to the Supreme Court on Monday.

Speaking to IANS, Hariprasad, who is in Delhi for the protest march, said, "The CJI should not behave like a Bharatiya Janata Party member. He is a CJI of the Supreme Court; he should give justice to everyone."

The Congress-led INDIA bloc of Opposition parties has planned to march to the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Review (SIR) of the electoral rolls.

"Today, our leader Rahul Gandhi is marching to the Supreme Court to demand the scrapping of the SIR process and the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar. Gyanesh Kumar is supposed to be an impartial Election Commissioner, but all these days, he has been acting like an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party. So, we are demanding his resignation," the Karnataka Congress chief added.

Congress MP Praveen Chakravarty, speaking about the Cockroach Janata Party's (CJP) agitation against the ECI, said that everybody who believes in the Constitution is welcome to join the movement.

Speaking to IANS, Chakravarty said, "CJP is welcome to protest. I think all of us are fighting for the same issue. We, the Congress party, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, will be marching to the Supreme Court, and that is our protest. Everybody who believes in a constitutional India is welcome to protest."

Congress MP Gaddam Vamsi Krishna accused the ruling BJP of acting against Gen Z.

Speaking to IANS, Krishna said, "It clearly shows that the BJP is against Gen Z and the youth of this country. They are unable to win the votes of first-time voters. That is why they have introduced Form 6. SIR was brought in to delete the names of new voters. We will fight against this."

Maharashtra Congress President Harshvardhan Sapkal told IANS, "The protest will continue until Gyanesh Kumar leaves office and the faces hiding behind him are exposed."

The demonstration is part of a series of protests by Opposition parties, which have demanded the resignation of the CEC over alleged irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls, among other issues.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, has maintained that the planned march is "not of a political party, but of all Indians". The Congress leader is seeking to broaden the campaign's reach and build pressure on both the Chief Election Commissioner and the Narendra Modi-led BJP government at the Centre.

Rahul Gandhi has alleged that the government has benefited from the SIR exercise, which has become a major point of contention between the Opposition and the Election Commission.

The INDIA bloc had also submitted a charter of demands to President Droupadi Murmu last Friday, outlining four key demands related to electoral reforms and alleged vote manipulation.

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