Ranchi, Sep 30 : The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha staged a demonstration in front of the Lok Bhavan here on Wednesday, seeking Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over alleged flaws in the pan-India SIR process and demanding elections using ballot papers instead of EVMs.
The protest march from the Ranchi College Ground to the Lok Bhavan came on a day INDIA bloc leaders met in the national capital and finalised a joint action plan over the SIR row, including holding rallies and 'save democracy marches'. The group demanded reverting to ballots for elections instead of using EVMs.
In the Jharkhand capital, JMM leader and workers raised slogans such as 'Vote Chor, Gaddi Chhod' and 'Shame on Gyanesh Kumar' at the gathering in front of the Lok Bhavan.
"We are protesting today to save the country's Constitution and democracy. We demand that elections be conducted through ballot paper because no electronic machine is tamper-proof. This protest is also against the flaws in the SIR process and demands the resignation of the CEC," said JMM's Central General Secretary and Chief Spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya.
JMM Rajya Sabha MP Mahua Maji claimed people are scared that their names will be removed from the voter list through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and they would be deprived of government scheme benefits.
"People in Jharkhand are not satisfied with the SIR process. Those who have lived here for generations are being told to prove they are voters here. People in villages who seasonally migrate cannot manage their documents. Are they not citizens here? The EC demands documents; where will they get them?" Maji asked.
The MP further claimed, "Even the 18-year-olds, whose names are to be registered in the voter list, have also been deprived of many things. Their names are not being registered because the (BJP-led government at the) Centre thinks they might not vote for them."
"The BJP wants to form its government by any means -- 'Saam, Daam, Dand, Bhed' (persuasion, money, punishment, division). But they should remember that none of these things will work at all."
The row erupted after The Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi objected on record at least 14 times over the past 10 months to decisions and orders on the SIR that they said were 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.
