Congress on Sunday said the proposed measures tied to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls amounted to an admission that the exercise had been a "disaster", and that "piecemeal measures" for deleted or at-risk voters would do little to mitigate what the party called "mass disenfranchisement". Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the party would hold district-level protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday, and Congress sources said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had told the party's leadership that Rajya Sabha nominations for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh were beginning and that he would send senior party members to an INDIA bloc meeting on Sept 30.
Congress presses election-roll protest; Akhilesh Yadav to send party members to INDIA bloc meet
Congress on Sunday said the proposed measures tied to the special intensive revision of electoral rolls amounted to an admission that the exercise had been a "disaster", and that "piecemeal measures" for deleted or at-risk voters would do little to mitigate what the party called "mass disenfranchisement". Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the party would hold district-level protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Monday, and Congress sources said Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav had told the party's leadership that Rajya Sabha nominations for 10 seats in Uttar Pradesh were beginning and that he would send senior party members to an INDIA bloc meeting on Sept 30.
The Congress statement came as opposition parties mobilised to coordinate with INDIA bloc members and non-NDA parties ahead of further protest, according to the report. Top members of the alliance are expected to attend the INDIA bloc meeting on Sept 30.
Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said the press note issued by the Election Commission had been debunked and exposed for what it was, describing it as a "desperate attempt at damage control that hides all and reveals nothing". He asked what the point was of an SIR process that had turned into a "colossal waste" of public resources and a nuisance for every citizen.
In another development, CPM general secretary M A Baby met AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday. Baby said Kejriwal told him there has to be a very powerful struggle exposing the manner in which the EC has been working as a tool in the hands of the union.
- The source does not state the calendar date of the Sunday on which Congress made its statement.
- The source does not state what measures the Election Commission's press note proposed, nor when the note was issued.
- The source does not state how many voters were deleted or identified as at-risk, or how many electoral rolls the special intensive revision covered.
- The source does not state whether Akhilesh Yadav confirmed his plans independently of the Congress sources cited.
- The source does not name which other INDIA bloc or non-NDA parties will attend the Sept 30 meeting.
- The source carries no confirmation of whether the district-level protests called for Monday took place.
Read the original at The Times of India