Shimla, October 26:
All India Mahila Congress president Alka Lamba on Monday said the Congress’s ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’ campaign would continue until Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar was removed from office and sent to jail. She alleged that Kumar had deprived more than 13 crore citizens of their voting rights, insulting democracy and the Constitution.
Addressing a press conference at Rajiv Bhawan, the Himachal Pradesh Congress headquarters, Lamba released a poster for the November 1 rally at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, carrying the slogans ‘Chalo Delhi’, ‘Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod’, ‘Save Democracy’ and ‘Save the Nation’. She claimed that more than 10 lakh people from across the country would participate in the INDIA bloc rally and invited the people of Himachal Pradesh, particularly women, to join the event.
Lamba said the struggle was not limited to any political party but was aimed at protecting the country’s democracy and Constitution. She added that opposition parties had united on the issue.
She said INDIA bloc leaders, led by Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, had met the President of India and presented what they described as evidence of irregularities in the Election Commission’s functioning and the removal of over 13 crore voters from electoral rolls under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Raising questions about the electoral process, Lamba asked whether every vote was being protected and whether elections remained fair and transparent. She also accused Kumar of making arbitrary changes to Form 6 without proper authority. According to her, two Election Commissioners had written 14 objection letters to the Cabinet Secretary within 10 days over the matter.
Lamba further questioned the process of appointing the Chief Election Commissioner, stating that the Chief Justice of India had been removed from the selection committee comprising the Prime Minister and the Leader of Opposition, which, she alleged, gave the government greater control over the appointment.
Questioning the Centre over the alleged exclusion of voters labelled as infiltrators, she asked when these people had entered India and whether the government could clarify its responsibility if they had arrived after 2014. She also demanded accountability from Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Lamba alleged that the excluded voters included Dalits, poor people and tribal communities who lacked the means to raise their voices. She said the Congress would continue its campaign against alleged electoral irregularities under the SIR exercise.
The Congress has put forward three key demands: the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner and legal action against him; cancellation of the SIR exercise and steps to prevent alleged vote theft; and a return to ballot paper voting instead of electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Lamba also alleged that the Centre had restricted access to Jantar Mantar for democratic protests and imposed hefty charges for holding rallies at Ramlila Maidan. She urged the BJP government not to create obstacles to the November 1 rally and accused Amit Shah of attempting to exert pressure on the Delhi Police in connection with the event.
She also criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi, alleging that recent revelations in the Epstein files had put him under pressure from US President Donald Trump.
