New Delhi: The Congress expects around 10 lakh people to attend the INDIA bloc’s rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan on November 1, where the opposition alliance will demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, party leaders said on Saturday, according to the reports.
Haryana Congress in-charge Sanjay Dutt and state unit president Rao Narendra Singh said electoral roll transparency, the integrity of the voting process and protection of eligible citizens’ voting rights would be central to the protest.
The rally marks a major phase of the Congress’s nationwide ‘Vote Bachao Desh Bachao’ campaign, which alleges irregularities in electoral rolls and the Election Commission’s functioning, including during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
Party leaders said preparations were underway across Haryana, with workers instructed to document alleged discrepancies, raise voter awareness and mobilise participants from districts, blocks, villages and polling booths.
Dutt said concerns over possible deletion of eligible voters’ names and the impartiality of the electoral process required serious attention.
Congress leaders argued that Kumar’s removal was necessary to address their concerns and said legal action should follow if an investigation established wrongdoing.
The party described the campaign as an effort to protect voting rights, democracy and the Constitution, rather than to advance the interests of any single political group.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal chaired a meeting with Haryana leaders and office-bearers at Indira Bhavan in New Delhi on Friday to review preparations.
Separately, the INDIA bloc plans to hold a “public impeachment” proceeding against Kumar on October 30, ahead of the November 1 rally.
The opposition has said the mobilisation will highlight its allegations of “vote chori” and demand institutional accountability.
