Udupi Congress stages protest, demands arrest of CEC Gyanesh Kumar
Udupi: The Udupi District Congress Committee staged a protest in front of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office on Monday, demanding the resignation and arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The Congress has been holding protests in several parts of the country over the issue.
During the protest, demonstrators burnt effigies of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Later, the protesters attempted to lay siege to the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, but police stopped them by closing the gate.
Some protesters climbed the gate and raised slogans against the Union government. They also staged a sit-in in front of the gate and raised slogans against the Election Commission.
Addressing the gathering earlier, Congress District President Kishan Hegde Kolkebail alleged that BJP MPs were making statements disregarding the Constitution. He alleged that the BJP-led Union government was using the Election Commission to carry out what he termed “wrongful” activities and was acting against the interests of the people despite its promise of “Achhe Din”.
He further alleged that the government was playing with the sentiments of the people in the name of the Ram Mandir. He warned that if the situation was not corrected, people would enter the homes of BJP leaders and retaliate.
Kolkebail said the agitation would be expanded to the taluk and rural levels. He demanded the immediate resignation of Gyanesh Kumar and called for a criminal case to be registered against him, followed by his arrest.
Coastal Development Board Chairman M.A. Gafur alleged that the Election Commission was functioning in a manner that threatened the Constitution. He claimed that lakhs of people had been deprived of their voting rights and alleged that poor people, workers, tribal and nomadic communities, Dalits and minorities were being deliberately removed from electoral rolls.
Gafur further alleged that the objective was to manipulate electoral rolls to influence election results.
Former MLA Gopal Poojary, KPCC spokesperson Veronica Cornelio and NSUI District President Saurabh Ballal also addressed the gathering.
Congress leaders Prasadraj Kanchan, Dinesh Hegde Kolkebail, Ashok Kumar Kodavoor, Prashanth Jattanna, Prakhyath Shetty, Hariprasad Rai, Jyothi Hebbar, Habeeb Ali, Shabbir Udupi, Sheikh Waheed, Ismail Atradi, M.P. Modinabba, Abdul Aziz Hejamady, Harish Kini, Ganesh Nergi, Riyaz Kodi and Raju Poojary, among others, were present at the protest.