look news india
The dispute that broke out between the opposition parties and the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) regarding the country’s electoral system, transparency of voter lists and impartiality of the Election Commission now seems to be taking the form of a major nationwide movement. The opposition ‘INDIA’ alliance has called for a mega rally at the historic Ramlila Maidan in the capital Delhi on November 1, demanding the resignation of Election Commission of India (ECI) Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The rally is being projected as a decisive show of force to protect democracy and fair voting rights. Congress and opposition parties claim that people from all over the country will attend this huge meeting to be held on November 1. at least 10 lakh people Will gather. The Congress organization has intensified the work of mobilizing workers at the block and booth level in the states neighboring Delhi—especially Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan.
This sharp stance of the Congress and the opposition alliance has come to light after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list and the recent decisions of the Election Commission.
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Questions on vote cutting and transparency: The opposition alleges that names of eligible voters have been removed on a large scale in various states and necessary transparency was not maintained in the process.
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Disagreements within the Commission: The controversy was further fueled by media reports in which objections were reportedly lodged by other Election Commissioners of the Commission regarding certain policy decisions and practices.
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Demand for removal of Chief Election Commissioner: Opposition leaders say that unless the Chief Election Commissioner steps down from the post, questions will remain on the constitutional guarantee of fair elections. With this demand in mind, the Congress Party is running a nationwide campaign ‘Vote Bachao Desh Bachao’, the culmination of which will be seen in the Delhi rally on November 1.
According to senior leaders of the Congress and the India Alliance, the November 1 rally is planned to be the largest mass movement in recent years:
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High level meetings in the states: Congress General Secretary (Organization) K. C. Venugopal recently held marathon meetings with senior officials and in-charges of various states at Indira Bhawan in New Delhi.
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Special focus on states adjacent to Delhi: Committees have been formed at every district, tehsil and block level of Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to bring a large number of farmers, youth and social workers to Ramlila Maidan through buses and private vehicles.
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Presence of top leaders of India alliance: Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi along with national leaders of Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, Aam Aadmi Party, DMK, Left parties and other allies will be present together on the rally stage.
After the claim of gathering of such a large number of people, the vigilance of Delhi Police and central security agencies has increased. In view of the traffic jams and security restrictions during the protests around Jantar Mantar and Lutyens’ Delhi in the past, this time the administration is preparing a special advisory for traffic management, operation of metro stations and law and order around the rally venue. Police will also keep a close watch on the Delhi-Haryana and Delhi-UP borders to control the capacity of Ramlila Maidan and crowd pressure on the surrounding roads.
Opposition parties say that this is not an ordinary political rally, but a constitutional fight to protect the voting rights of every citizen of the country. Only the crowd that gathers at Ramlila Maidan on November 1 will decide how effective this opposition pressure proves to be against the top leadership of the Election Commission.