Siliguri, 24th September: Following the publication of a report by The Indian Express on the Election Commission, opposition parties across the country have raised questions over the neutrality of the poll panel.
On Thursday, the Darjeeling District Congress organised a protest in Siliguri demanding the resignation and immediate arrest of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Party leaders and workers staged a protest at Hashmi Chowk.
Darjeeling District Youth Congress President Rohit Tiwari strongly criticised the Central government and the Election Commission. He alleged that the report published by The Indian Express had exposed how votes were being “stolen” and how documents were manipulated.
Tiwari alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had repeatedly raised concerns over the functioning of the Election Commission, but claimed that the ruling party had remained silent because it was allegedly involved in the process.
He also criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, alleging that names had been removed from the voter list and that elections were subsequently conducted on the basis of the revised electoral rolls.
Tiwari said the Congress was demanding that the elections conducted on the basis of the revised electoral rolls be cancelled and that fresh, free and fair elections be held across West Bengal using the original voter list that existed before the implementation of SIR.
