Kolkata, Oct. 27 -- Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee are set to attend the INDIA bloc's rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on November 1 to protest alleged electoral irregularities and demand the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The rally comes amid renewed opposition protests over alleged manipulation of electoral rolls and changes to voter-list revision rules. The Opposition bloc is seeking to intensify its campaign against the Election Commission, accusing it of irregularities in the electoral process.
On October 30, INDIA bloc parties are scheduled to organise a symbolic "people's impeachment" programme against Gyanesh Kumar. The November 1 gathering is expected to follow this initiative, with the opposition demanding Kumar's resignation from the post of Chief Election Commissioner.
The proposed rally follows a series of opposition demonstrations held between October 5 and 10, which saw several leaders, including Mamata Banerjee, Abhishek Banerjee, Rahul Gandhi, Tejashwi Yadav and M A Baby, take to the streets in protest. The demonstrations drew national attention, with police security tightened in Delhi. The participation of the two senior Mamata All India Trinamool Congress leaders is expected to underline the party's role in the INDIA bloc's campaign against the alleged electoral irregularities.
Meanwhile, Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the BJP government of curtailing freedom of speech and expression across the country, alleging that it was disregarding fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.
In a statement, Banerjee said lakhs of citizens were being deprived of their right to express themselves freely. She alleged that the government did not care about Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law, freedom of speech and expression, and the protection of life and personal liberty, respectively.
Banerjee alleged that the government wanted to deprive citizens, including elected representatives, of their right to express themselves freely. She extended her support to students, youth, social media users, vloggers, YouTubers and independent digital platforms, demanding that they be allowed to voice their opinions without restrictions.
"Full strength to them as we, all together, fight this dangerous trend of censorship," Banerjee said.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.