Protest against CEC grown beyond parties to civil society: Chidambaram

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram stated that protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the ECI have extended to civil society, citing issues with voter forms. The INDIA alliance met the President, and KC Venugopal has called for a protest march in Delhi.

Protest against ECI now involves civil society: Karti Chidambaram

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram on Saturday emphasised the cause behind the ongoing protests against the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, noting that the movement has grown beyond the political parties to civil society. Speaking to ANI, Chidambaram said, "The INDIA alliance met the President yesterday and gave a memorandum. The memorandum lists out various concerns they have about the functioning of the Election Commission of India. It is not only political parties that are raising questions; civil society is raising questions, young people are raising questions. This is not some isolated political protest that is happening. The society is protesting against the manner in which the Election Commission functions, the manner in which the SIR is being designed, the manner in which the SIR is being rolled out."

'Form 7 weaponized for mass deletions'

"I myself have pointed out that Form 7 has been weaponized. Form 7 is not meant for mass deletions. It is not meant for anonymous appeals against people to be removed... In Form 6, questions are being asked which are completely irrelevant to the process. Your right to vote does not depend on the fact whether your parents were voters or not. Your right to vote depends only on whether you're a citizen of India, over 18 years of age, and a resident of an assembly constituency," he added.

Congress calls for protest march

Meanwhile, Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal on Saturday called for a protest march against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on October 12 in Delhi. In a post on X, Venugopal appealed to every common person to join them in a massive protest march against the alleged nationwide vote theft orchestrated by the regime of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. "We appeal to every Indian concerned about the survival of Indian democracy to join us in a massive protest march in Delhi on Monday - against the nationwide Vote Chori orchestrated by the Modi-Shah regime," said Venugopal.

The announcement came after Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to arrest all the protesters, asserting that they will continue their fight to defend the Constitution and protect the voice of the Indian people. He stressed that the Opposition is not going to back down amid protests against the CEC. He also expressed solidarity with the protesting youth and urged them to continue their demonstrations.

1,000 protesters detained in Delhi

Around 1,000 protesters have been detained across the national capital so far on Saturday while attempting to march towards Jantar Mantar for a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protest, Delhi Police sources said. (ANI)

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