Opposition protests in Delhi again demanding CEC’s resignation, Mamata to join

Opposition parties will hold another protest in Delhi on Thursday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is also expected to join the protest.
On Wednesday, police detained around 90 INDIA bloc leaders, including Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, while they were marching towards the Election Commission office. They were later released.
The opposition alleges that the Election Commission is seeking to remove a large number of eligible voters from electoral rolls in the name of revision. They have strongly criticised the Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, saying it could put genuine voters’ right to vote at risk.
The opposition has prepared to make Thursday’s protest larger. After a meeting with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, opposition leaders headed towards the protest site in several buses. When police stopped them, they sat on the road and raised slogans.
Rahul Gandhi said the movement would continue until the CEC resigns. The opposition has also alleged differences within the Election Commission over the voter-list revision process, raising questions about its neutrality.
The Election Commission and the ruling BJP have rejected the allegations. They said the revision is aimed at removing deceased, fake, duplicate and ineligible voters from the electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, legal proceedings are also underway in the Supreme Court of India over the voter-list revision. The court has sought explanations from the government, the Election Commission and the Chief Election Commissioner on the matter.