‘No moral right to continue’: Congress demands ouster of Modi, CEC
New Delhi: The Congress has demanded the resignation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, blaming them for systematic “vote chori” and manipulation of the electoral process.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the demand followed a two-and-a-half-hour meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) in New Delhi, which passed a resolution accusing the Election Commission (EC) of allowing the electoral process to be “captured” and calling for the immediate resignation of CEC Kumar.
The resolution also sought suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and restoration of names “illegally” deleted from voter lists.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Congress general secretary K C Venugopal said 68 members had participated in the deliberations during which alleged manipulation of electoral rolls and concerns over the EC’s functioning were discussed in detail.
“In the SIR process and election procedure, it is the duty of the Prime Minister to intervene. Modi no longer has the moral responsibility or moral right to continue as Prime Minister,” Venugopal said. He said the CWC had concluded that the situation warranted a sustained political campaign, asserting that “democracy is under threat” under the present electoral system.
He said the Congress would build a wider resistance demanding Kumar’s resignation. Venugopal said the CWC congratulated Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi for raising one of the most important issues concerning Indian democracy through the “vote chori” campaign. He said Rahul Gandhi had for the past 18-19 months been presenting evidence of irregularities in the electoral process.
He alleged that both voter lists and EVMs were being “compromised” and accused the BJP of using the electoral machinery to influence election outcomes. He further alleged that “vote chori” was being organised by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister, and therefore the Congress would also demand Modi’s resignation.
Focusing on the scale of deletions allegedly carried out during the SIR exercise, Venugopal claimed that the party’s assessment indicated that more than 13 crore names had been deleted from electoral rolls. He said the Congress would take its campaign to the grassroots and approach voters whose names had been removed.
“Our workers staged protests across 800 districts yesterday,” he said. Earlier, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, addressing the CWC, alleged that the government was systematically weakening democratic institutions and that electoral rolls were being manipulated to disenfranchise voters. He called for the immediate removal of CEC Kumar and urged PM Modi to resign on “moral grounds.”
Kharge alleged that the BJP and the RSS were pursuing a “complete plan” to undermine the independence of institutions created by the country’s founding leaders. Targeting the EC, he questioned how the country could repose confidence in the CEC if his own colleagues had raised objections to his functioning. He alleged that electoral officials were arbitrarily deleting voters’ names at the behest of the BJP and the Modi government. He said the Congress’ criticism was not aimed at weakening the EC but at ensuring that it remained independent and credible.
