Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 9: The Congress leader and the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the opposition leaders were “stunned” at the President Droupadi Murmu not denying their assertions about the alleged irregularities in the electoral systems, though she sought proof in support of the claims.
“We have all the proof of how elections were stolen. The entire country has seen it,” he added. There was no word as such from the President’s office on the discussions.
Gandhi led a 10-member delegation of opposition leaders in a march from Parliament towards Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday and met President Murmu and submitted a memorandum to her. The leaders met the President to raise their concerns regarding the functioning of the Election Commission of India and to demand the resignation of CEC Gyanesh Kumar. Their three-point memorandum also sought that the controversial Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls be scrapped, and the 13 crore voters excluded in the drafts be added back.
Besides Rahul Gandhi, the delegation included the Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, the Trinamool Congress chief and former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, NCP(SP)’s Supriya Sule, RJD’s Manoj Jha, VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan, IUML’s E T Mohammed Basheer, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, CPI’s D Raja.
Earlier, about 150 INDIA bloc MPs met at the Central Hall of Parliament, where 16 leaders from 16 different parties signed the memorandum for the President, raising concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI). They also deliberated upon their strategy to take forward their plan for agitation against alleged “vote chori” and press for the CEC Kumar’s ouster.
Kharge, Gandhi, Congress chief ministers DK Shivakumar (Karnataka) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh), as well as other INDIA bloc leaders — Banerjee, Sule, Basheer, Baby, Raja, Samajwadi Party’s Rajeev Rai and Mohibullah Nadvi, Independent MPs Kapil Sibal and Pappu Yadav, among others, attended the meeting.
While the 10-member delegation eventually went in for the meeting, other opposition leaders were stopped at Vijay Chowk where they held a sit-in at Kartavya Path on the route, holding “Gyanesh, it’s done bro!” placards and raising slogans alleging “vote chori” and “collusion” between the EC and the BJP-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
After meeting the President, Rahul Gandhi said, “The main thing is that I expected the President of India to deny that ‘vote chori’ was taking place. I expected her to say that India has a free and fair electoral system. I was shocked and stunned that the President of India accepted what we said…”
He also said the opposition leaders would go to the Supreme Court on Monday to meet Chief Justice of India and hand over memorandum to him.
Mr Kharge told the media persons, “Leaders from our alliance parties met the President and submitted a memorandum. We went specifically to apprise the President of the agitation we launched four days ago regarding the theft of votes, and we presented our case fully. We highlighted the issue of vote theft and the grave error committed by Gyanesh Kumar. We demanded that EVMs be set aside and elections be conducted using ballot papers.
“Furthermore, she asked for evidence regarding the instances of vote theft; we are currently compiling this evidence and will submit it. We will provide all other relevant information as well. Above all, we addressed the fact that PM Modi and Amit Shah are intent on destroying the country’s democracy and are actively taking steps in that direction. She listened attentively and stated that she would investigate the matter thoroughly, consult the concerned parties, and determine the appropriate course of action…”
At the opposition leaders’ meeting, Gandhi said the Opposition’s demonstrations over the past few days have “shaken the foundation of the government.” Speaking to reporters ahead of the march, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha said, “The demand is the same as that of the entire country: to dismantle the entire structure of dishonesty, and Gyanesh Kumar is standing like a shield.” Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi said, “All patriots are engaged in strengthening the country’s democracy, regardless of whether they are members of any political party or not… I salute all the patriots who have come to the streets.”
On the unprecedented security steps and shutdown of the entire public transport system ahead of the youth movement Cockroach Janta Party’s call for a protest at Jantar Mantar in the heart of Delhi on Saturday, Mr Kharge said the government of acting out of fear. A person who is afraid will die tomorrow, if not today,” he said. “The mistakes committed by Gyanesh Kumar have created a situation of fear in the country and put democracy in danger. That is why we are going to meet the President and apprise her of the things he has done,” Kharge told reporters.
BJP leader JP Nadda repeated the ruling party’s assertion that the Congress-led bloc was simply a sore loser looking for excuses. He cited the BJP’s victories in recent bypolls, results of which came out earlier in the day. “NDA’s greatest strength lies in the people’s trust and confidence! The Lok Sabha result in Nagaon and Assembly results in Nandigram, Rejinagar and Thattanchavady reaffirm the people’s faith in [PM Modi’s] leadership, vision and policies and the BJP-NDA’s agenda of good governance and public welfare,” he posted on X.
“The INDI Alliance’s repeated electoral defeats reflect its declining public trust. Questioning institutions instead of introspecting only exposes its political desperation,” he further argued.