The meeting of leaders of the 'India alliance' was held in Delhi today (30th). Leaders of alliance parties including the Samajwadi Party, CPI, CPI(M), NCP (Sharad Pawar), Shiv Sena (UBT), along with several key leaders such as Bihar former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, West Bengal former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, and senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Jairam Ramesh, and K.C. Venugopal, took part in the meeting. After this meeting, a joint press conference of the India alliance party leaders was held.
Speaking then, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “The consultation meeting of the INDIA alliance parties held today lasted for about 3 to 3.5 hours. All the leaders of the alliance parties participated in this meeting. Uddhav Thackeray and Hemant Soren joined via video conference. I am happy that everyone unanimously agreed to join together and fight against vote theft.
Accordingly, four phases of protests will be held on behalf of the INDIA alliance against the preparation of the voter list for the Lok Sabha elections and the functioning of the Election Commission. As part of this, district-level rallies will be held from October 2 to 8, and on October 6, a rally to the Election Commission will be held with the participation of all opposition MPs. This protest is being held to bring to the people the problems caused by the current government, which was formed through 'Vote Chori' (vote theft). All opposition leaders have the responsibility to protect the Indian Constitution.
Whoever has damaged Indian democracy, no matter how high a position they hold, we will certainly ensure that they are punished — this is the INDIA alliance’s firm promise. The voter list that existed before the SIR revision should be used in the upcoming elections. There must be complete transparency in revising the voter list. The principle of one person, one vote, one value cannot be allowed to be weakened.
The details of those added to, removed from, and corrected in the voter list should be published transparently, constituency-wise and polling-station-wise. Before removing voter names, prior notice, the reasons for removal, and opportunities to appeal should be provided. Eligible voters should not be left out because of administrative errors. In addition, a simple registration process should be created for first-time voters.
The Election Commission should function in a way that earns the trust of all parties. Through this alliance, a demand is being made to bring back the old ballot paper system instead of electronic voting machines. A vote is the right of the people, and an election verdict is the power of the people. It is the duty of the opposition parties to ensure that the people remain the ultimate center of authority in democracy. All opposition parties should work together," he said.