The Congress on Tuesday demanded the immediate suspension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the restoration of 13 crore voters it alleged were illegally removed by the Election Commission, and the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, while asking Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resign on moral grounds.
The party announced a nationwide agitation after a 2.5-hour Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on the row.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal said Kumar "has no right to continue for a single day". He alleged that the deletion of voters could not have happened without the concurrence of the Prime Minister.
"In the SIR process and election procedure, it is the duty of the Prime Minister to intervene," Venugopal said. "There is a moral responsibility on the Prime Minister of India on this issue. He is not having any moral responsibility or moral right to continue in his office as PM. This is the CWC's opinion."
He said the meeting was unlike an ordinary CWC. "In everybody's speeches, everybody's deliberations, that seriousness came out that the country is in a threat situation under this election system. Democracy is under threat in this election system. Therefore, this is the time to fight it out. We will not take rest until this election machinery system is made pakka," he said.
