New Delhi, Sept. 30 -- The Left parties on Wednesday sought to widen the agitation against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar beyond the INDIA Bloc, calling for the participation of all non-NDA parties as well as civil society groups, artistes, writers and prominent personalities.
CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby said the Left front wanted to turn the agitation into a sweeping movement over what it described as erroneous functioning of the Election Commission (EC) under Kumar.
"Besides non-NDA parties, big, medium and small, we want the civil society to participate in the agitation, alongside artists, writers and cultural personalities," Baby told news agency.
He said this issue was separate from the organisational future or composition of the INDIA Bloc, and individual parties would have to decide their position on the alliance.
"As far as the content of the INDIA Bloc is concerned, that is a separate matter. It depends not only on INDIA Bloc, but on each of these parties," Baby said.
Opposition parties, including the Left front, are seeking Kumar's removal in the wake of allegations of misconduct related to the functioning and decisions of the EC, including the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Top leaders of INDIA Bloc parties met here on Wednesday to finalise an action plan for a joint agitation over alleged irregularities in the functioning of the EC and the conduct of SIR. Leaders from CPI, CPI(M), and other Left front parties joined the meeting.
Baby said the agitation should also reach out to parties that are not part of the INDIA Bloc and have political differences with its constituents. "We are requesting them to join... this agitation must be made broader."
The CPI(M) leader also pointed to concerns raised by parties belonging to the BJP-led alliance on the EC's functioning.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.