Rahul Gandhi Led INDIA Bloc Meets Prez Murmu, Seeks CEC’s Removal Over ‘Vote Chori’

INDIA bloc leaders met President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday and submitted a four-point memorandum raising concerns over alleged “vote chori” (vote theft), the Election Commission’s handling of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the functioning of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The Opposition sought the President’s intervention, demanding Kumar’s removal, suspension of the SIR exercise, a return to paper ballots and the repeal of Assembly elections held over the past two years where it claimed conclusive evidence of electoral manipulation had been presented.

The memorandum also called for the repeal of the 2023 law that provides life-long immunity to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners, and the restoration of 13.30 crore voters allegedly deleted from electoral rolls.

The 10-member delegation included Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress president; Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha; Mamata Banerjee, former West Bengal chief minister and chairperson of the All India Trinamool Congress; Omar Abdullah, Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and vice-president of the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference; Supriya Sule, Lok Sabha MP; M A Baby, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist); Manoj Kumar Jha, Rajya Sabha MP; D Raja, general secretary of the Communist Party of India; Rajeev Rai, Lok Sabha MP and national secretary of the Samajwadi Party; and Thol Thirumavalavan, Lok Sabha MP and president of the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi.

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien said the delegation placed its four-point memorandum before the President. The Opposition said it had approached the President because other avenues had been closed and described the office as the final guardian of the constitutional covenant, reported Hindustan Times.

What The Opposition Told The President

The memorandum urged Murmu to take cognisance of what the Opposition described as a grave situation and use her office to ensure its demands were addressed without delay.

Its first demand was the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and the repeal of the 2023 law providing life-long immunity to the CEC and Election Commissioners. The second called for the immediate suspension of the SIR exercise and the restoration of all 13.30 crore voters allegedly deleted from electoral rolls.

The third demand sought a return to paper ballots for all elections. The fourth called for the repeal of Assembly elections held over the previous two years in which, according to the memorandum, conclusive evidence of “vote chori” had been presented.

The Opposition also alleged that electoral manipulation had taken place on a massive scale across several elections. The memorandum named Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Delhi and West Bengal, alleging that these elections had been stolen. It further alleged that electronic voting machines (EVMs) and electoral rolls had been manipulated by the BJP in several other Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

The memorandum accused the Chief Election Commissioner of misleading the Supreme Court to cover up what it described as electoral wrongdoing.

“The Right to Vote is the foundation of representative democracy enshrined in Article 326 of the Indian Constitution,” the memorandum said, adding that the Election Commission was the constitutional custodian of that right and not its proprietor.

It further argued that no institution should be allowed to alter the rules governing the right to vote, evade accountability or silence those seeking answers.

Rahul Gandhi & Mamata Banerjee's Reaction

Speaking to media after the meeting, Rahul Gandhi said he had expected the President to reject the Opposition’s allegations of vote theft and affirm that India had a free and fair electoral system.

“The main thing is that I expected the President of India to deny that 'vote chori' was taking place. I expected her to say that India has a free and fair electoral system. I was shocked and stunned that the President of India accepted what we said,” Gandhi said.

Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee said the President had responded positively to the delegation’s concerns and indicated that she would examine the matter.

“We have submitted a memorandum. We have seen from a positive outlook that she said she will investigate; she will go through the details, and she needs evidence. She has asked us to send, which we said we will,” Banerjee said.

Banerjee also urged the President, as the custodian of the Constitution, to ensure that democracy remained protected. She said the INDIA bloc was united and claimed that it represented more than 60% of the people.

SIR Dispute And Election Commission Row

The meeting came amid the Opposition’s continuing campaign against the Election Commission’s handling of the SIR exercise and its allegations of electoral irregularities.

The dispute sharpened after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over the preceding 10 months. The objections were largely linked to decisions and orders connected to the SIR process.

The Election Commission has rejected allegations of impropriety, maintaining that differences of opinion are normal in institutional deliberations and that its orders have legal backing and follow established statutory procedures.

Three Days Of Protests In Delhi

The meeting with Murmu followed three consecutive days of Opposition protests in Delhi over alleged electoral irregularities, transparency and voters’ rights.

On Tuesday, INDIA bloc MPs attempted to march towards the Election Commission’s office but were stopped by police. Rahul Gandhi and other leaders staged protests, and several Opposition MPs were detained.

The protests continued on Wednesday as leaders attempted to march towards Jantar Mantar and were again detained. On Thursday, Opposition leaders gathered at Rajghat, paid floral tributes to Mahatma Gandhi and held a silent prayer. Kharge and other leaders reiterated their demand for accountability over alleged vote theft and called for Kumar’s resignation. Gandhi said the agitation would continue until their demands were addressed.

The Opposition had first written to the President’s office on October 2 seeking an appointment. Rashtrapati Bhavan subsequently asked for the names of the proposed delegation. According to Congress general secretary K C Venugopal, the bloc sent a follow-up request on October 5, seeking a meeting on October 7, 8 or 9. The President’s office later confirmed the appointment for 8 pm on Friday.