Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Saturday demanded the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, saying all elections held so far were "illegal" and that fresh polls should be conducted using ballot papers.
"Today, the entire country is being run on illegal elections. Modi is an illegal Prime Minister, Shah is an illegal minister, and all the chief ministers who have been elected anywhere are illegal. All of them should be dissolved, elections should be held, and elections should be conducted through ballot papers," Kharge told reporters in Kalaburagi, Karnataka.
EVMs and voter rolls under attack
Kharge alleged that electronic voting machines were being misused, adding that "their own people" were saying this. He directed his fire at the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, alleging irregularities in the exercise and claiming the process was undermining democracy.
He questioned what kind of free and fair election it would be if, as he alleged, 500 votes were removed from a polling booth, adding that attempts were now being made to add names as well. The Congress president alleged that members of the BJP and the RSS were going to wards, panchayats and villages where they wanted votes deleted and were filling up forms there, calling it "completely wrong".
Kharge referred to the INDIA bloc meeting held on September 30, in which members of 20 parties and their legal cell participated, saying everyone agreed the SIR was going wrong for the country and was adversely affecting poor people, the uneducated, workers and, particularly, minorities.
He also criticised the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, particularly the provision shielding current and former commissioners from civil or criminal proceedings over acts done in the course of their official duties.
The Congress said the Opposition would continue nationwide agitations against the SIR exercise and the alleged misuse of the electoral process, with Youth Congress protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation entering a second day in Delhi.
Sources: The Hindu: Congress president Kharge calls all elections illegal; demands dissolution of Lok Sabha, State Assemblies | The Economic Times: Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge calls all elections illegal; demands dissolution of Lok Sabha, state assemblies
"Today, the entire country is being run on illegal elections. Modi is an illegal Prime Minister, Shah is an illegal minister, and all the chief ministers who have been elected anywhere are illegal. All of them should be dissolved, elections should be held, and elections should be conducted through ballot papers," Kharge told reporters in Kalaburagi, Karnataka.
EVMs and voter rolls under attack
Kharge alleged that electronic voting machines were being misused, adding that "their own people" were saying this. He directed his fire at the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, alleging irregularities in the exercise and claiming the process was undermining democracy.
He questioned what kind of free and fair election it would be if, as he alleged, 500 votes were removed from a polling booth, adding that attempts were now being made to add names as well. The Congress president alleged that members of the BJP and the RSS were going to wards, panchayats and villages where they wanted votes deleted and were filling up forms there, calling it "completely wrong".
Kharge referred to the INDIA bloc meeting held on September 30, in which members of 20 parties and their legal cell participated, saying everyone agreed the SIR was going wrong for the country and was adversely affecting poor people, the uneducated, workers and, particularly, minorities.
He also criticised the 2023 law governing the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners, particularly the provision shielding current and former commissioners from civil or criminal proceedings over acts done in the course of their official duties.
The Congress said the Opposition would continue nationwide agitations against the SIR exercise and the alleged misuse of the electoral process, with Youth Congress protests demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation entering a second day in Delhi.
Sources: The Hindu: Congress president Kharge calls all elections illegal; demands dissolution of Lok Sabha, State Assemblies | The Economic Times: Congress' Mallikarjun Kharge calls all elections illegal; demands dissolution of Lok Sabha, state assemblies
