Daijiworld Media Network - Chennai
Chennai, Oct 1: Left parties staged demonstrations at several places across Tamil Nadu on Thursday, demanding the resignation or removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over what they alleged was the disenfranchisement of more than 13 crore voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Leading a demonstration near Washermanpet in Chennai, CPI(M) State Secretary P Shanmugam alleged that the SIR exercise was being used to systematically delete targeted voters from electoral rolls.
He alleged that the Election Commission had failed in its responsibility to protect the voting rights of eligible citizens and conduct free and fair elections, and accused the CEC of acting in favour of the BJP.
"The Chief Election Commissioner does not have the slightest moral right to remain in office for even a single minute and must be removed immediately," Shanmugam said.
CPI(M) Politburo member Vasuki, who participated in a protest at Nungambakkam, listed four demands — removal of the CEC, suspension of the SIR process, restoration of deleted names and reconstitution of the committee that selects Election Commissioners.
She alleged that the Election Commission, which was expected to safeguard citizens' electoral rights, had instead presided over the removal of the names of 13 crore people from the rolls.
Vasuki also said the Left parties were seeking to bring non-INDIA bloc parties, including the Aam Aadmi Party, into a wider campaign against the SIR exercise. She alleged that the issue was part of a broader political agenda aimed at establishing a "Hindu Rashtra".
At a gathering in K K Nagar, CPI State Secretary Veerapandian accused the Union government and the Election Commission of undermining democracy and demanded accountability from the Prime Minister and Home Minister.
"The Prime Minister and Home Minister must take responsibility for this murder of democracy, and the CEC must resign for stripping 13 crore people of their right to vote through conspiracies," he said.
CPI(ML) district secretary N James, who joined the protest with Veerapandian, alleged that the CEC had acted unilaterally despite objections from other Election Commissioners and had violated Supreme Court guidelines.
"The CEC alone has acted unilaterally and removed the names of 13 crore voters. This is condemnable," James said, demanding restoration of the earlier system for selecting Election Commissioners, which included the Chief Justice of India.
The Left parties have previously alleged that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several occasions to decisions concerning electoral rolls and related systems. The parties said the objections were ignored and the SIR proceeded.
The protests also saw the Left leaders criticising the DMK, AIADMK and TVK ahead of the Dharapuram and Madurantakam by-elections.
Veerapandian alleged that the major regional parties had reduced political campaigning to electoral calculations and monetary inducements. Referring to Dr B R Ambedkar's emphasis on the value of the ballot, he said treating votes as commodities was a serious wrongdoing.
The CPM, CPI and CPI(ML) had announced demonstrations across Tamil Nadu on Oct. 1, demanding the removal of Gyanesh Kumar and a halt to the SIR process.