‘We will withdraw from agitation only after Gyanesh Kumar is removed’: K C Venugopal

Speaking to reporters here, Venugopal said protests were continuing across states and districts, with only a brief pause expected during the Diwali festival.

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday said the Congress-led agitation against CEC Gyanesh Kumar would continue until he was removed from the post and the country's electoral system was made impartial and transparent.

Venugopal alleged that the deletion of names from electoral rolls would deprive poor people of their voting rights and access to various government benefits. (File Photo/ANI)

Speaking to reporters here, Venugopal said protests were continuing across states and districts, with only a brief pause expected during the Diwali festival.

He described the November 1 rally organised by the Congress in New Delhi as one of the strongest protests witnessed in the country, saying the party was fighting against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

"We will withdraw from this agitation only after Gyanesh Kumar is removed from the post and steps are taken to make India's electoral system and processes flawless, impartial and fair. This is not a struggle that we will abandon midway," he said.

Venugopal alleged that the deletion of names from electoral rolls would deprive poor people of their voting rights and access to various government benefits, which, he claimed, were increasingly being linked to voter identity cards.

He said the Congress would launch a nationwide 'Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao' (Save the Vote, Save the Nation) campaign at the panchayat level over the next one-and-a-half months.

As part of the campaign, the party would appoint a 'Vote Rakshak' (guardian) in every polling booth to scrutinise electoral rolls, identify people whose names had been deleted and visit their homes to help them get their names restored, he said.

Congress units were organising programmes across states and districts, while plans were also being drawn up for joint programmes with other political parties, he said.

Venugopal said the issue would be strongly raised during the upcoming Parliament session, adding that the Opposition would take up recent controversies and issues affecting the public.

Referring to the previous Parliament session, he claimed that Amit Shah could not enter the House for nearly two weeks because of the Opposition's protests.

Asked about the functioning of the Keralam government, Venugopal said the state had a capable administration and would address the issues raised against it.

He said isolated incidents and administrative shortcomings were inevitable, but the government would take appropriate action wherever necessary.

He defended the government's handling of allegations linking Excise Minister M Liju to bar owners, saying public representatives were familiar with people, including businesspersons, in their constituencies.

Venugopal said the former Excise Commissioner, Seeram Sambasiva Rao, should have raised allegations of corruption in the department while he was still in office. However, the government had agreed to examine the complaint and take necessary action, he added.