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The Congress on Tuesday said it will intensify its agitation amid electoral irregularities, with party leaders emerging from the CWC meeting demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Congress leaders, including K. Sudhakaran, Syed Naseer Hussain, Deepender Hooda and Meira Kumar, said the party would mobilise people and hold protests, while alleging irregularities and collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission. Congress MP K. Sudhakaran said, "...Gyanesh Kumar is the main subject today we have discussed in the meeting... We have taken a strong decision that we will fight against Gyanesh... We will go in between the public and reveal their character and politics." Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain said, "The meeting was held on the SIR and CEC issue. We held discussions on it in detail. We have maintained our previous demands, and we will mobilise and agitate regarding them... We will ask for the resignation (of Gynaesh Kumar)." Congress MP Deepender Hooda demanded that elections should be conducted again, alleging the proven bond between the Election Commission of India and the BJP. Elections should be conducted again. Because it has been proven that the BJP and the Election Commission colluded to defeat the public will in the Haryana election. In the state of Haryana, which has a population of nearly 3 crore, the margin between the BJP and the Congress was a mere 14,000 votes. The Election Commission was misused extensively at the state level. A massive game involving vote theft and other irregularities was played there through collusion between the Election Commission and the BJP... we demand the immediate resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and insist that appropriate action be taken against him, Hooda said. Congress leader Meira Kumar said, "...there will be protests... This is an issue that affects the people of our country. We are fighting the people's battle; we live in a democracy, yet the people are denied the right to vote, so we will ensure they get that right... Anyone who is not performing their duties properly ought to resign." The political row intensified following an investigative report by The Indian Express, which said Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over 10 months regarding decisions and procedures linked to the SIR exercise. Meanwhile, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections represented institutional dissent, maintaining that decisions related to SIR were taken with the unanimous approval of the Commission. (ANI)
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