Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation on moral grounds for allegedly "pressuring" the poll panel chief.
Addressing a crucial meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), Kharge said the party would step up its campaign against Kumar and the government, taking the issue to the streets and raising in Parliament alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and the poll process.
Kharge put forward five demands, including making public complete data on every major change in electoral rolls and providing political parties electoral rolls and relevant data in a simple format and in a timely manner.
He also demanded an independent and time-bound inquiry wherever evidence of serious discrepancies emerges.
Voters whose names have been removed from the rolls must be fully informed and given an opportunity to appeal, while there should be transparency in critical data and decisions related to the election process so that no party has grounds to claim that information is being withheld, Kharge said.
"Most importantly, the voters of India must have confidence that their vote is secure," he said.
Kharge said the issue was not merely about winning or losing an election, but about protecting democracy and the Constitution.
"We do not view this issue merely as a battle to win or lose an election. Elections come and go, and governments change, but democracy and the Constitution are enduring," he said, asserting that the ordinary voter, rather than the prime minister, chief minister or any leader in power, is the most powerful person in a democracy.
Addressing the CWC, Kharge said electoral rolls must be transparent, the election process fair, institutions independent and the vote of every eligible citizen secure.
"This is the spirit of the Constitution; this is the soul of democracy. The Congress will never shy away from this democratic responsibility. We must do whatever it takes—from the streets to Parliament—to ensure this," he said.
Kharge also accused the Modi government of attempting to disenfranchise voters, drawing a comparison between demonetisation and what he termed "Votebandi".
"History bears witness that ten years ago, this very prime minister devastated India's economy with the decision of 'Notebandi (demonetisation)'. And now, ten years later, he is destroying our robust democracy through a conspiracy of 'Votebandi (voter disenfranchisement)'," he said.
He alleged that the poor, Dalits, underprivileged and exploited sections would bear the brunt of such measures, saying the vote was their "most powerful weapon".
Kharge also alleged that changes to Form 6, used for enrolment of new voters, were aimed at disenfranchising the youth and were "entirely illegal".
He referred to the decision of the Rajiv Gandhi government in 1988 to lower the voting age from 21 to 18, saying it had empowered the youth.
"In contrast, we have Prime Minister Modi, who is so aggrieved with Gen Z that he has hatched a conspiracy to disenfranchise the youth. He quietly altered the rules regarding Form 6. This is entirely illegal," Kharge alleged.
Kharge also demanded Kumar's removal, citing concerns raised by two other Election Commissioners over the poll panel's functioning.
"The two Election Commissioners have themselves termed the CEC's actions as 'arbitrary and improper' and the entire nation is now aware that his consistent efforts have been aimed at benefiting the ruling party," Kharge said.
"Under these circumstances, he has no right to remain in office and should be removed immediately. Furthermore, the prime minister—under whose pressure he acted in this manner—should himself resign on moral grounds," he said.
The meeting comes days after Indian Express reported differences within the Election Commission over aspects of the SIR exercise, including changes to Form 6, additions and deletions from voter lists and control over the electoral roll database.
The Indian Express has reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on record at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders relating to SIR, which they said were issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
The Election Commission, however, has rejected reports of a rift, saying differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations and that its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures. It has also maintained that decisions related to SIR were taken unanimously.
With elections in five states approaching, Kharge said it was crucial to ensure that no voter was deprived of their rights.
"We must guarantee that every individual's vote is secure and the elections are fair, thereby maintaining the public's trust in India's electoral process," he said.
Kharge also credited Rahul Gandhi for raising the issue of alleged "vote chori", saying the concerns he had flagged had now been borne out.
The CWC meeting, chaired by Kharge, is being attended by former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, besides general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jairam Ramesh, KC Venugopal, Sachin Pilot and Mukul Wasnik, and senior leaders including P Chidambaram.
Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states -- DK Shivakumar (Karnataka), V D Satheesan (Kerala), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (Himachal Pradesh) -- are also attending the meeting.
(With inputs from PTI)