Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday challenged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to dissolve Parliament and hold elections using ballot papers, as the INDIA bloc prepares to hold a mock parliamentary session on Friday as part of its planned “public impeachment” of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The opposition alliance is scheduled to hold the symbolic protest at Kharge’s residence in New Delhi at 3.30 pm on Friday, October 30, after its attempts to organise the programme at other venues ran into permission hurdles. The exercise is intended to raise allegations of electoral irregularities and demand accountability from the Election Commission.
Speaking to ANI, Kharge said MPs would gather to express their views on Kumar’s conduct, alleging that the Chief Election Commissioner was undermining democratic norms.
“The conduct of Gyanesh Kumar and the scheme to dismantle democratic norms, acting on the directives of Modi-ji and Shah-ji, are making every effort to destroy democracy,” Kharge said.
Taking aim at Modi over his remarks on ballot-paper elections, the Congress chief challenged the Prime Minister to demonstrate his willingness to hold a parliamentary election using paper ballots.
“They are mocking the demand for ballot papers. Well, do it then! If you have the courage, dissolve Parliament and conduct the elections on ballot paper,” he said.
Kharge said electoral victories in smaller contests would not address the concerns of the public, arguing that inflation, unemployment and issues affecting young people should receive greater attention.
“Today, the discussion should be about inflation, unemployment, and the issues faced by the youth. That is what needs to be talked about. Setting all of that aside, they keep saying Congress is nowhere to be seen here or there. There was a time when they had only two seats in the entire Parliament; should we keep harping on that?” he added.
He also criticised Modi for making what he described as snide remarks about the Congress, saying the Opposition would raise its concerns through the planned programme.
CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat also questioned the Prime Minister’s remarks on ballot-paper elections, citing recent Legislative Council polls in Varanasi and Nagpur.
“Let the Prime Minister answer this first: didn't the BJP lose two MLC seats in Varanasi, the Prime Minister's own home turf, in elections held via paper ballots? And in Nagpur, the headquarters of the RSS, didn't the RSS candidate lose?” Karat said.
She urged Modi not to be arrogant and accused the BJP of seeking to manipulate the electoral system to secure victories.
“Therefore, Prime Minister, do not be so arrogant. And do not resort to desperate, authoritarian measures to secure a victory by manipulating the entire electoral system. The public is watching, and the public also knows how to respond,” she added.
The exchange follows Modi’s criticism of the Congress after the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won all four seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections.
In a post on X, Modi referred to Legislative Council elections held across 28 seats in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka, noting that ballot papers had been used.
“MLC elections in 28 seats across 4 big states – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Bihar and Karnataka. Elections were held using ballot papers. Guess how many seats Congress won?” he wrote.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)
