Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], October 24 : Amid nationwide calls for the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), former Keralam Chief Minister and senior CPI(M) politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan said that strong protests were emerging across the country demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s ouster. He said the CEC was “acting like an autocrat” while accusing him of “unilaterally implementing decisions” despite disagreement from other members of the poll body.
As Jantar Mantar has been denotified as a designated protest site, he argued that protests cannot be “crushed or wiped out” through repression.
“Look at how Delhi dealt with the student and youth protests demanding Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation. Even Jantar Mantar, the designated venue for protests in Delhi, was denied to them. Strong protests are emerging across the country against such anti-democratic policies. If one Jantar Mantar is shut down, thousands of Jantar Mantars will emerge. No protest can be crushed or wiped out through repression," Vijayan said while addressing a gathering of protesters marching to Lok Bhavan here.
“The CEC has been acting like an autocrat, unilaterally implementing decisions that the other members of the Commission could not agree with. There is a nationwide demand that a Chief Election Commissioner who has undermined democratic principles and denied people their voting rights should not continue in office,” he added.
Students and various organisations marched to Lok Bhavan on Friday demanding the sacking of CEC Kumar and scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
Vijayan said that even though the Election Commission of India (ECI) has a responsibility to safeguard democracy, its actions were reflective of the “RSS-BJP agenda”.
"I congratulate everyone who organised and participated in this march to protect democracy. The country’s constitutional institutions are facing serious threats, and the Election Commission has a crucial responsibility to safeguard democracy. Unfortunately, its actions are not in keeping with its values and are part of the RSS-BJP agenda. The greatest strength of democracy is that power rests with the people,” the former CM said.
“The RSS and BJP are trying to take that power away and deny people their constitutionally guaranteed rights to remain in power. The Election Commission is being misused for this purpose,” he added.
This comes as Left parties and several civil society organisations, including student leaders, staged a march near Bangla Sahib Gurudwara on Friday, as part of the anti-CEC protests. 
The entire opposition, including the INDIA bloc and the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), is up in arms against the ECI over the SIR of electoral rolls. Opposition parties have alleged irregularities in the SIR drive and have been demanding the sacking of Gyanesh Kumar.