Mandya protest seeks CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation; KPCC leader moves Supreme Court plea
Protests in Mandya and a plea to the Supreme Court demand CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal over alleged electoral irregularities and SIR concerns.
A protest was held in Mandya on Thursday demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, amid continuing objections over the functioning of the Election Commission of India and the revision of electoral rolls.
The demonstration, organised by Dalit organisations and the Samana Manaskara Vedike (Forum of Like-minded Organisations), took place at Jayachamarajendra Circle. Leaders of various organisations and activists joined the rally, calling for the protection of voters' rights and transparency in the electoral process. Protesters carried placards with slogans against the Election Commission and against Kumar, whom they accused of electoral irregularities.
Separately, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson M. Lakshmana urged the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance of the matter and order the CEC's removal from his post. Addressing a press conference in Mysuru, he also demanded Kumar's arrest, alleging that the CEC had taken several serious decisions aimed at facilitating a BJP victory in elections.
Citing media reports on dissent notes submitted by two of the three Election Commissioners, Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi, Lakshmana accused the CEC of "stealing" votes for the BJP's benefit. He said the two commissioners had disagreed with decisions taken unilaterally by the Chief Election Commissioner on 14 occasions and had recorded their objections in writing, which, he alleged, were not taken into consideration.
Lakshmana claimed that over the past ten months, elections in six States had been won by the BJP allegedly through the removal of around three crore voters' names under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, particularly of those who did not vote for the party. He further alleged that the BJP and Kumar intended to remove 1.56 crore voters in Karnataka through the SIR, and called for a large-scale nationwide movement demanding the arrest of those responsible for the alleged wrongdoing.