Top leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet in New Delhi on Wednesday to finalise an action plan for a joint agitation over alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise and to press for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, as the opposition grouping seeks to close ranks amid the row over the Election Commission's decision-making.
Sources said a draft notice for a fresh attempt to move a motion in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar was ready and would be discussed for approval at the meeting.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, former party chief Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretaries Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal, TMC leaders Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee, and leaders from parties including the SP, CPI, CPI(M), NCP(SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT), among others, will attend the meeting.
The DMK and AAP have made it clear they will not attend, while SP chief Akhilesh Yadav will also be absent because of Rajya Sabha election nominations in Uttar Pradesh. He will send representatives instead.
Speaking about the meeting, Venugopal said, "Tomorrow, there is an INDIA bloc meeting. The Congress wants to hold a massive agitation to save democracy in the country with the help of all political parties. There will be valuable suggestions from leaders of the INDIA bloc tomorrow; after that we will sit and formalise the clear action plan for the future agitation."
"We will coordinate between the INDIA bloc agitation programme and that of the Congress," he told reporters.
Asked about Yadav not attending the meeting, Venugopal said, "I spoke to Akhilesh Yadav, Congress president Malikarjun Kharge also spoke to him. He has Rajya Sabha election nominations to take care of but his party leaders are attending."
Asked whether attempts would be made to get parties such as the DMK and AAP on board, Venugopal said those issues would be discussed.
"The DMK was very much part of INDIA bloc. Still we believe, they are all against this type of attack on democracy. That is our thinking, let us see," he added.
On the INDIA bloc meeting, DMK spokesperson TKS Elangovan said, "Ideologically, we all stand together. Maybe we are not part of the INDIA alliance. That is different. But in Parliament, we will support whoever brings a removal motion against Gyanesh Kumar... our leader had issued a statement. On many of the issues where other opposition parties oppose the BJP, we will also stand by them. That doesn't mean that we are together. We are not in the INDIA bloc."
The opposition INDIA bloc sees the issue of alleged irregularities in the SIR as an opportunity to close ranks and challenge the government.
The meeting comes days after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected on record at least 14 times over the previous 10 months to decisions and orders on the SIR (Special Intensive Revision), which they said had been issued without their knowledge or recommendation.
Under fire over the red flags raised by two of its commissioners over the SIR process, the EC has asserted that differing views and observations are a normal part of deliberations in any institution and all its orders carry full legal sanction and follow established statutory procedures.
The last meeting of the INDIA bloc took place on June 8. Stressing unity against the BJP, its members unanimously decided to demand the resignation of then Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the NEET-CBSE row and to write to the Chief Justice of India on the SIR exercise and "vote loot".
(With inputs from PTI)
