Amid the political firestorm over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, the Congress Working Committee meeting saw a fiery message from Leader
of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. According to sources, Rahul Gandhi's message to his party colleagues was "let's fight to the finish." Sources suggest, the Congress party are firm on their demands, calling for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the scrapping of the SIR process and crucially- fixing accountability on Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, in the CWC meeting, demanded Gyanesh Kumar's removal from the post. He even called the CEC "a puppet of the Narendra Modi government." "This goes against the very spirit and principles of Indian democracy, which were established to ensure that every eligible citizen’s vote is protected and every vote is counted fairly.," he said Kharge also called for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's resignation on moral grounds. Kharge's remarks came during the meeting. In a press briefing following the huddle, Congress MP KC Venugopal said, "the CEC has no moral right to be in that post." Venugopal said the Congress will seek to build a broader opposition movement against the Election Commission and the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. He said an INDIA bloc meeting scheduled for tomorrow will discuss suggestions from alliance partners and chalk out an action plan for future agitations. Venugopal said the Congress plans to take its campaign back to the booths and launch a coordinated campaign with the support of opposition parties. He also demanded the immediate suspension of the SIR exercise, alleging that it is aimed at "destroying democracy" in the country. Venugopal further claimed that 13 crore voters had been "illegally removed" and demanded their immediate restoration. The Supreme Court, meanwhile, agreed to hear a plea seeking the suspension of CEC Kumar after a media report alleged that took decisions without considering suggestions of other two election commissioners on the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral roles . Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant agreed to list the matter after advocate Vikas Singh mentioned the petition filed by Rakesh Kumar Singh and sought an early hearing. However, the CJI did not specify an exact date. The petition has sought, among other reliefs, Kumar’s suspension from functioning as CEC. It also urged the apex court to declare that decisions falling within the Election Commission’s authority cannot be taken unilaterally by the Chief Election Commissioner.
