Raising the pitch over its "vote theft" charge, the Congress on Tuesday vowed to intensify its resistance in Parliament, courts and the streets till the EC is "restored" as an independent constitutional authority and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as CEC Gyanesh Kumar for "match-fixing" of polls
NEW DELHI — Raising the pitch over its "vote theft" charge, the Congress on Tuesday vowed to intensify its resistance in Parliament, courts and the streets till the EC is "restored" as an independent constitutional authority and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as CEC Gyanesh Kumar for "match-fixing" of polls.
After two-and-a-half hours of deliberations on the eve of an INDIA bloc meeting, the Congress Working Committee in a resolution raised four key demands, including the immediate suspension of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the restoration of 13.3 crore voters whose names have been deleted through this exercise.
It said the Congress will oppose the "brazen vote chori being done by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister" and called it the "biggest attack" on the electoral system, which was the foundation of Indian democracy.
"The Congress party will resist it in Parliament, in the courts and on the streets, until the guilty are punished, every citizen's vote is secure and the ECI is restored as an independent constitutional authority," the two-page resolution said.
The CWC meeting, attended by top party leaders including Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and other general secretaries and chief ministers of Congress-ruled states, said that the Congress considers this struggle to restore universal adult franchise in the country no less than the freedom struggle.
The opposition party said it will not rest till this struggle reached its rightful conclusion after the "guilty" are punished, the EC is restored as an independent constitutional authority and the vote of every citizen is secured.
The resolution unanimously adopted by the CWC said recent reports concerning the functioning of the Election Commission had vindicated Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's sustained warnings about "vote chori" and raised serious questions about the independence and credibility of the poll panel.
This came ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting here on Wednesday, where opposition parties are likely to finalise an action plan for a joint agitation over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, including a notice for a fresh bid to move a motion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar.
Gandhi, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, told the CWC that EVMs and voters' list "match-fixing" of polls was underway in the country and asserted that his party should not budge from the path of "virodh" (opposing) as well as "pratirodh" (resistance) from streets to Parliament.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi also narrated an "anecdote that the prime minister had once told him" that it was the Congress which would be the alternative to the BJP in case of transition of power.
However, when asked about the reported comment, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "I don't know where such stories come from".
In his introductory remarks, Kharge called for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's immediate removal over alleged SIR "irregularities" and also demanded Prime Minister Modi's resignation on moral grounds for "pressuring" the poll panel chief.
He also demanded an independent and time-bound inquiry wherever evidence of serious discrepancies emerges.
The CWC also alleged that the EC had been reduced to a "one-man show", with the CEC taking decisions without adequate consultation with other Election Commissioners, while citing reports that two ECs had raised 14 objections over a period of 10 months on "unauthorised" and "illegal" changes to Form 6 used in the SIR exercise.
The CWC said concentration of control over electoral rolls during the SIR had raised serious questions over transparency and institutional functioning of the EC.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, AICC general secretaries K C Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh said the CWC resolution also recognised that what began as one man's solitary warning is now a national demand for transparency and accountability, besides restoration of the sanctity of India's electoral system.
"In line with the mood of the nation, the CWC therefore resolves to: Demand the immediate resignation of the CEC, who has forfeited all moral and institutional authority. Demand the immediate suspension of the SIR in view of serious concerns regarding the integrity and transparency of the electoral rolls being prepared through the SIR, as well as the constitutional validity of the SIR process itself.
"(We) Demand the immediate restoration of the 13 crore 30 lakh names removed from the electoral rolls. This brazen vote chori has been organised by the CEC on behalf of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. Nothing short of their resignation will ensure the safety of our constitution and hard-earned democracy," the resolution said.
The CWC said it is "gravely alarmed by the mounting questions over the constitutionality of the SIR that has already wiped out 13 crore 30 lakh Indians from the electoral rolls".
An exercise of doubtful constitutional validity cannot be allowed to decide who may vote in the world's largest democracy, it said.
"A process that shifts the burden onto citizens to prove their own eligibility, is executed in haste without transparent safeguards, and results in arbitrary mass-disenfranchisement cannot be reconciled with the guarantee of equality under Article 14 or universal adult suffrage under Article 326," the CWC resolution said
It stressed that the BJP and its "handpicked" officials must understand that this "brazen theft" of the people's franchise will not go unanswered.
Gandhi also said that there is no doubt that the 2024 election was "completely fixed and rigged" and all legislations enacted thereafter -- specifically the law passed in December 2023 giving immunity to the CEC and the two Election Commissioners -- were illegal, sources said.
Gandhi also reminded them of the Congress Session of 1930 in Lahore when the British denied even provincial autonomy to the Indian National Congress, which took the decision to take the path of 'Purna Swaraj'.
As the present government refuses to listen to the voice of the people of this country or heed their demands, there is only one way forward for parties that believe in democracy -- to resist, he said.
Venugopal said the CEC "will understand soon what level of resistance we will build for his resignation", adding that the party was in the process of formulating plans for nationwide protests and would consult other parties too.
"Gyanesh Kumar is only a tool. When dictators lose the confidence of the people, they seek extraordinary tools to stay in power. His actions on SIR cannot be without the concurrence of his masters - PM and HM," Venugopal alleged.