Nation
Manipur Congress protests over electoral roll revision, seeks CEC’s resignation
Police fire tear gas shells after protesters burnt effigies of Gyanesh Kumar outside the chief electoral officer’s office in Lamphel
Manipur Congress members protested in Lamphel on Friday, demanding chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation and arrest
The protest followed a report that two Election Commissioners had repeatedly objected to decisions concerning electoral rolls
The Election Commission said differing views were part of normal deliberations and that its orders followed statutory procedures
Manipur Congress members protested outside the chief electoral officer’s office in Lamphel on Friday, demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar following a newspaper report about objections within the Election Commission to decisions concerning electoral rolls.
Protesters burnt effigies of Kumar and raised slogans. Police fired a few tear gas shells to disperse them. The demonstrators also called for Kumar’s arrest and an independent review of decisions and changes to electoral rolls made during his tenure.
One protester said the demonstration was a demand for accountability and transparency, as well as protection of citizens’ right to vote.
The protest followed an Indian Express report that election commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had recorded objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders they said were issued without their knowledge. The reported objections concerned changes to voter registration Form 6, additions and deletions from electoral rolls, and centralised control of the electoral roll database.
The Congress has also alleged that newly eligible young voters are being excluded from electoral rolls. Drawing a comparison with Rajiv Gandhi’s 1988 decision to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, the party accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of seeking to “snatch” young people’s vote through “underhand means”.
Responding to the report, the Election Commission said differing views and observations were a normal part of institutional deliberations. It maintained that its orders had full legal sanction and followed established statutory procedures. The poll panel added that every Commission officer, as well as the three Election Commissioners, was authorised to suggest improvements to the electoral system.
With IANS inputs