- Opposition’s INDIA bloc filed Supreme Court petition challenging Election Commission.
- Eleven opposition leaders unitedly petitioned against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
- Rahul Gandhi hosts Tuesday meeting to strategize against CEC.
The INDIA bloc is set to meet again on Tuesday to discuss its strategy against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has invited Opposition leaders for tea, after which they will address a press conference.
The meeting comes a day after Rahul Gandhi led a march from Delhi’s Barakhamba Road to the Supreme Court on Monday, October 12, and a petition was filed challenging the Election Commission’s actions. The matter is expected to be heard by the Supreme Court soon.
Which Parties Filed The Petition?
Eleven Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, have jointly filed the petition in the Supreme Court. Such a joint move by leaders from different parties has been rare in recent times.
Rahul Gandhi thanked the leaders for their unity in a post on X, sharing a video of the march.
“I am very happy to see what happened today. I am proud of all of you. Everyone worked as a team. As I said in my press conference, these are not separate protests. This is one movement in which we are all standing together,” he said.
Other petitioners include Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) MP Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Sanjay Raut, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MP Mahua Maji, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M A Baby and Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader E T Mohammed Basheer.
The petition names the Election Commission of India, CEC Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as respondents.
Which Opposition Parties Are Staying Away?
Five major Opposition parties appear to be staying away from the latest INDIA bloc initiative. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), led by MK Stalin, have been part of the INDIA bloc. The Biju Janata Dal (BJD), led by Naveen Patnaik, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), led by K Chandrashekar Rao, have remained outside the alliance. The report also points to Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief C Joseph Vijay staying away from the bloc’s programme.
However, AAP, DMK, BJD and BRS have called for Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Why Is Vijay Staying Away?
In Tamil Nadu, Vijay’s TVK is running the government with Congress’s support, but the actor-turned-politician has not joined the INDIA bloc’s latest programme.
The DMK has questioned Vijay’s silence on the SIR exercise and the demand for the CEC’s resignation. Stalin’s party has also alleged that TVK has a secret understanding with the BJP, while Congress maintains that TVK is part of the INDIA bloc.
On Monday, the DMK said it had left the INDIA bloc after what it described as Congress’s betrayal and would not participate in Congress-led protests. It also questioned why Congress leaders had not asked Vijay to clarify his position on the demand for the CEC’s resignation.
Congress and DMK had been longstanding allies and contested the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections together. After their defeat, Congress broke with the DMK and extended support to TVK, which fell short of a majority. The move angered Stalin’s party.
What Did AAP Say About Staying Away?
Asked about AAP’s absence from the INDIA bloc’s latest initiative, party MP Sanjay Singh said AAP was continuing to oppose the SIR exercise both on the streets and in Parliament.
He cited protests by Delhi AAP leaders, the detention of several MLAs and the alleged manhandling of Arvind Kejriwal. He also said the party had supported the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest.
“Gyanesh Kumar will have to go, and the SIR should be scrapped,” Singh said.
AAP leader Durgesh Pathak took an indirect swipe at Congress, saying, “One country, one protest and two rules: one is under house arrest, while the other gets five-star treatment.”
His remark appeared to refer to Rahul Gandhi’s march on October 12. During the CJP protest on October 10, more than 7,000 people had reportedly been detained.
Tensions between AAP and Congress had escalated during the Delhi Assembly elections. AAP has also blamed Congress, in part, for its electoral defeat and has made clear that it will stay away from fronts led by Congress.
BJD’s Changing Position On INDIA Bloc Protests
The BJD joined the INDIA bloc’s march on October 6 but has stayed away from other programmes in Delhi since then. Naveen Patnaik has been raising concerns over the SIR exercise since the Assembly elections.
On October 6, Congress said the march had been stopped near Akashvani Bhawan, close to the Election Commission headquarters, and that BJD MPs had participated.
“There is no doubt that other Opposition parties were also morally with this march, including parties that are currently part of the NDA for the time being,” Congress had said.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: abplive.com
