INDI Alliance leaders meet President, submit poll-related grievances
New Delhi, October 9: Amidst the ongoing political controversy surrounding the Election Commission’s functioning and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, the Indi Alliance intensified its protest on Friday, meeting with President Droupadi Murmu and submitting a memorandum to her.
Opposition alliance leaders raised their questions and concerns regarding the electoral process with the President. Earlier, a meeting of alliance MPs and senior leaders was held in the Central Hall of Parliament to discuss future strategy.
Several prominent opposition figures, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, were active in the entire process. Trinamool Congress’s Abhishek Banerjee also joined the political activity. The presence of the alliance leaders underscored the opposition’s common strategy on this issue.
They allege that a large number of voters’ names were removed from the electoral rolls during the SIR process, raising questions about their voting rights. The alliance demanded the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, the cancellation of the SIR process, and the reinstatement of the names of eligible voters who were removed.
Opposition leaders also demanded that ballot papers be used instead of EVMs in the elections. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, after meeting with the President, stated that the President asked for evidence to support allegations of alleged irregularities in the election. This conversation occurred after the submission of a memorandum.
Prior to the meeting with the President, a meeting of the MPs and leaders of the Indi Alliance was held in the Central Hall of Parliament. According to media reports, approximately 150 MPs attended the meeting, and leaders from 16 different parties signed the memorandum. Following this, the opposition MPs proceeded to Rashtrapati Bhavan. However, the size of the delegation to meet with the President was kept small.
The participation of senior leaders from various opposition parties, including Chief Ministers Omar Abdullah, Revanth Reddy, and Mamata Banerjee, was a major focus of this political activity. Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress also joined the alliance’s activities. Through the presence of leaders from different states, the opposition expressed their shared concerns regarding issues related to the voter list and the electoral process.
This move by the Indi alliance comes as protests continue for the fourth consecutive day in Delhi. Earlier, opposition MPs had attempted to march to the Election Commission’s office. This was followed by protests at Jantar Mantar and, on Thursday, at Rajghat. During these protests, some opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, were detained by the police.
The opposition is calling this entire campaign a matter of voting rights and electoral transparency. Meanwhile, the Election Commission maintains that the SIR process is being conducted under established legal provisions, and identifying dead, transferred, duplicate, and other ineligible names in the voter list is part of it. Thus, the dispute between the opposition and the Election Commission over the voter list revision continues to deepen.
Overall, submitting the memorandum to the President was a significant political development in the Indi Alliance’s protest campaign. Political circles will now be watching the President’s actions in this matter and the Election Commission’s subsequent actions on the issues.
