Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday asserted that the opposition will not stop its protests against SIR till Gyanesh Kumar resigns or Prime Minister Narendra Modi removes him as the Chief Election Commissioner.
Speaking at a 'Jan Sunwai' event in Trilokpuri in the national capital, Gandhi claimed that names of 416 voters were "illegally" removed from four booths alone in the area under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)of electoral rolls.
The Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha was accompanied by CPI (ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya and Swaraj India's Yogendra Yadav during the "public hearing" of grievances over the electoral process.
"We have seen here that in four booths, 416 voters have been illegally removed. We have raised questions with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, but he refuses to answer and hides. But we will not stop.
"The opposition will continue its fight until Gyanesh Kumar resigns or Prime Minister Narendra Modi removes him. Crores of people across India are being deprived of their right to vote," he told the gathering.
Gandhi claimed that they have been raising this issue for a long time, but now the entire country is beginning to understand that "votes are being stolen at the highest level".
"Poor people are being removed from the electoral rolls, and their rights are being snatched," he alleged.
"Why is this happening? An attempt is being made to create a new India belonging to a select group of billionaires, where citizens have no rights and the poor are denied their rights, leaving a country that serves only the interests of billionaires," the Congress leader alleged.
Govt denies nod for INDIA bloc event ahead of November 1 rally
The Congress claimed it was denied permission to hold an event where the INDIA bloc parties planned a "public impeachment" of CE Gyanesh Kumar ahead of their November 1 rally and accused the government of trying to "silence" the voice of common people after "destroying" the electoral system.
Congress General Secretary (Organisation) K C Venugopal claimed the government-run Ashok Hotel initially allowed it permission to host the event but later denied it after police intervention.
He said the Congress has booked Ramlila Maidan from October 25 to November 3 and decided to shift the event to the site.
He said 21 parties of the INDIA bloc had planned the "public impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar as a curtain raiser" on October 30 for the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan on "vote chori" charge.
"The day before yesterday, our people came to construct the infrastructure here and the police stopped them. We don't know what the reason is," said Venugopal, who accompanied by leaders of the Delhi Congress, visited the Ramlila grounds to oversee arrangements for the November 1 rally.
"This means it is not the Delhi Police's decision. It is the decision of PM Modi and Amit Shah and they are protecting their pet Gyanesh Kumar," he alleged.
"First they destroy the electoral system, and now they are trying all kinds of tricks to silence those who fight to save our democracy.
"Let it be very clear, come what may, we will not rest until Modi-Shah's puppet Gyanesh Kumar is not removed. If they stop us here, we will go to Amit Shah's house, PM Modi's house, and stage a massive dharna there. But we will fight to the finish, and until our mission is accomplished," Venugopal said in a post on X.
He alleged that the government wants to "shut down criticism" against it.
"How many permissions will you deny, Mr Amit Shah? How many people will you stop?" he said, asserting that they will not stop till the time Gyanesh Kumar resigns or is removed from the post of CEC.
"We don't know how scared PM Modi and Amit Shah are, even for a minimal gathering... we are not going to succumb to their pressure and we will hold our programme. We will conduct our programme; we know how to conduct it," Venugopal said
Asked where the event would be held, Venugopal said, "How Delhi Police will stop us, we will see. We can conduct the programme anywhere."
"We will go ahead until Gyanesh Kumar is removed from that position and the election system of this country is purified. We are not going to sit idle till Gyanesh Kumar is removed," the Congress leader asserted.
The planned rally is part of a series of protests by the Congress and other opposition parties to demand the resignation of CE Kumar over SIR and alleged electoral irregularities.