Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai

Chennai, Sep 26: The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) staged a protest in Chennai on Friday demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The protest was held near Tarapur Tower on Anna Salai and was led by TNCC president Manickam Tagore, who alleged that the Election Commission was functioning in favour of the BJP and accused Gyanesh Kumar of undermining democracy through the SIR exercise.

Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (CPI) also sought Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation, citing what it described as differences within the Election Commission over its decisions.

CPI Tamil Nadu secretary M Veerapandian, in a statement, alleged that decisions taken under the CEC’s leadership had weakened public trust in the poll panel. He also held Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for what he described as an “attack on parliamentary democracy”.

Veerapandian said the Supreme Court should examine the Election Commission’s decisions and the manner in which they were taken. He also demanded restoration of the earlier system under which the Chief Justice of India was part of the panel for selecting election commissioners.

Meanwhile, Left parties announced a week-long campaign across Tamil Nadu to press for the removal of Gyanesh Kumar from the post of Chief Election Commissioner.

The protests and campaign come amid opposition from several political parties to the SIR exercise and growing demands for greater scrutiny of the Election Commission’s decisions.