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In a blistering attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal on Tuesday said that he has "no moral right to continue" in office following alleged voter list manipulations and compromises in the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI).
Addressing a joint press conference along with General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh following the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, Venugopal underlined that two Election Commissioners had written to the Cabinet Secretary regarding the internal functioning and decisions of the poll body, placing the matter directly within the knowledge of the Prime Minister. He added that it is the Prime Minister's responsibility to intervene in the matter. "It's done by the clear directions of his masters; in this country, two election commissioners have written to the Cabinet Secretary also, so it's in the knowledge of the Prime Minister also. This is the moral responsibility of the PM to intervene. CWC's opinion is that PM Modi has no moral right to continue as the Prime Minister," he said. Praising the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, he said that Gandhi has continuously presented evidence over the past 18 to 19 months to demonstrate that the Chief Election Commissioner is "completely compromised" and that both electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter lists have been rigged as part of a systematic design to favour the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). "The entire Working Committee congratulated Rahul Gandhi for taking up the biggest issue of Indian democracy through the 'Vote Chori' campaign. For the last 18-19 months, he has continuously presented to the nation evidence that the Chief Election Commissioner is completely compromised; the election system of this country is rigged, whether it is the EVM machine or the voter list, both of them are compromised, both of them are designed for winning elections for the BJP," he said. Venugopal highlighted that Rahul Gandhi recalled the 1930 Lahore Session of the Indian National Congress, recalling the agitation for 'Poorna Swaraj' (complete independence) against British rule. "Today, Rahul Gandhi reminded us about the Lahore Congress Session of 1930, the Indian National Congress AICC session. When the British denied even provincial rule to the Indian National Congress, at that point of time, we took a decision to agitate for a Poorna Swaraj. The present government is not hearing the voice of the people of this country; they are not hearing the demands of the people of this country; then only one way for the parties who believe in democracy to resist," he said. He further announced that the party would launch aggressive, peaceful nationwide demonstrations to resist the alleged manipulation of the democratic process within the Election Commission. "We are going to resist aggressively with peaceful demonstrations, with peaceful movements all over the country," he said. Venugopal added that the two-and-a-half-hour-long Working Committee meeting discussed the most important issues relating to the Chief Election Commissioner and the fraud in the election system. he noted that 68 members participated in the CWC meeting today. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, the Congress and other opposition parties will meet and decide a joint strategy to take this protest further. (ANI)
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