Ludhiana, September 28
Led by former President of the District Congress Committee, Ludhiana (Urban) and former Chairman of the Punjab Large Industrial Development Board, Pawan Dewan, Congress activists in large number held a protest demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and also burnt his effigy at Sarabha Nagar, here today. The protestors also raised slogans, ‘Election Commission Vote Chor’, ‘Vote Chor Gaddi Chhor’, ‘Gyanesh Kumar Deshdrohi Resign Now’ and ‘Vote Chori Band Karo.’ Addressing the protestors, Dewan accused CEC Gyanesh Kumar of undermining and derailing the country’s democratic process.
While demanding that the initial step toward restoring the fractured and corrupted electoral system in the nation is the removal of the present Chief Election Commissioner, Dewan told the gathering, “With each passing day, fresh evidence was surfacing, revealing the extent to which the Chief Election Commissioner had been compromised and was colluding with the BJP to manipulate the electoral process. He stressed that such a situation was unprecedented in the nation’s history.”
Referring to the BJP’s victory in Maharashtra and West Bengal, Dewan said that what is being projected as an electoral triumph is, in reality, nothing more than a brazen act of vote-chori (vote theft). He added that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Punjab’s electoral rolls be scrapped, arguing it served only to disenfranchise genuine voters whom the BJP feared would not support it. He maintained that the upcoming assembly elections must be conducted on the basis of the rolls used during the recent parliamentary polls.
Dewan asserted that both the BJP and the Election Commission of India now stand exposed before the people of this country. He emphasized that for the past three years Congress has consistently maintained that the Commission was acting in collusion with the BJP to manipulate the electoral process. Reiterating his demand, Dewan called for the restoration of all genuine votes that had been deleted.
Dewan said a credible election depends on every eligible citizen being able to register and cast a vote without fear of arbitrary deletion or administrative obstacles. He said that the responsibility of the EC was to publish clear, constituency-wise information on changes to the electoral rolls, provide timely notice to affected voters and ensure an accessible process for objections and appeals, which was not done. “The people must be able to see that every decision is transparent, impartial and open to scrutiny,” he said.
Dewan also called on Congress workers and citizens to press for safeguards that protect voters’ rights. He said the Commission should address concerns raised about the revision of Punjab’s rolls before the next Assembly election and give voters confidence that the same standards will apply to every party and constituency. He added that restoring public trust requires the Election Commission to act independently and demonstrate, through its decisions, that each vote will be protected, while adding, “At this stage, now the only way to restore the credibility of the ECI is the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and the scrapping of SIR in Punjab.”
Prominent among others present at the protest include Sushil Malhotra, Nikki Rayat, Jaswinder Oshan, Kulbir Nita, Rohit Pahwa, Deepak Hans, Brij Mohan Kalia, Baljit Ahuja, Avtar Singh and Harbhagar Grewal.