New Delhi, Oct. 8 -- Civil society groups, academics and farmer organisations on Thursday extended support to a nationwide protest planned for October 10, seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, withdrawal of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and repeal of the law governing the appointment of election commissioners.
Addressing a press conference here, senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Bharat Jodo Abhiyan national convenor Yogendra Yadav and other speakers alleged that large-scale deletion of names from electoral rolls was undermining democratic and constitutional rights.
They appealed to students, youth, farmers and civil society members to participate in the October 10 mobilisation in the national capital.
Bhushan alleged that more than 13 crore names had been removed from voter lists and claimed the exercise disproportionately affected poor and marginalised sections. He also alleged that permission was being denied for peaceful protests, saying the right to assemble and protest was protected under Article 19 of the Constitution.
Yadav said the issue went beyond the Election Commission or the incumbent CEC and involved the wider electoral system. He alleged that the SIR exercise had resulted in the deletion of several crore names and questioned the process through which decisions were taken.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.