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Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), represented by party leaders Aadhav Arjuna and Maria Wilson, will attend the consultative meeting of the INDIA bloc on Saturday.
As part of the meeting, the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner, Gyanesh Kumar, is expected to be among the key demands raised by the opposition alliance. Top opposition leaders of the INDIA bloc on September 30 gathered at the Constitution Club to discuss alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, concerns over electronic voting machines (EVMs), and a demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The series of meetings comes days after a report by The Indian Express said that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections at least 14 times over a period of 10 months regarding decisions and procedures related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise and other electoral matters. Earlier, on Friday, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Friday said the party and the INDIA bloc leaders were ready to face arrest, alleging that the votes of common people were being "snatched" through the Election Commission of India. Speaking on the protests against the CEC, he said that this is a "do-or-die" fight for the Congress. "This is for saving the democracy of the country, saving the vote for a common man. Common men's votes are snatched by Modi and Shah through the Election Commission of India. So, this is a do-or-die fight for the Congress party and the INDIA alliance and all other opposition parties. We are not going to allow this thing," Venugopal said. Amid several leaders being detained during the protest on Friday, Venugopal said that they are prepared to go to jail. "Today's arrest? Yes. In the coming days, more arrests will happen. We are ready to go to jail to save democracy. And their leaders will go to jail. We are ready. Let them prepare all the jails to fill us," he said. Activists of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other civil society organisations staged a protest at Mumbais Shivaji Park against the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, while members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), along with opposition leaders, staged protests near Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The opposition movement against the Chief Election Commissioner is set to continue, with the INDIA bloc planning a series of protests, including a programme on October 6 and a rally in Delhi on November 1. (ANI)
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