Azamgarh (Uttar Pradesh) [India], October 2 : Samajwadi Party (SP) MP Dharmendra Yadav on Friday raised questions over the functioning of the Election Commission of India (ECI), saying concerns over its decisions and electoral procedures had been consistently raised since 2022.
Speaking on the issue, Yadav said the questions being raised were valid and alleged that the rules formulated by the Election Commission lacked consensus among the three Election Commissioners.
“We have been raising these questions consistently since 2022, and even before that, and they are entirely valid questions. The rules formulated by the Election Commission lacked consensus among the three Election Commissioners themselves. The amendment made to 'Form 6' was neither in accordance with the law nor the Constitution. Furthermore, stripping field-level officials, such as the PROs, of their powers regarding appeals against electoral roll amendments was legally untenable,” he said.
Yadav further questioned the impartiality of the Election Commission as a constitutional body and said that its functioning had been proven to be not impartial.
“The Election Commission is not functioning impartially as a constitutional body; this has been proven, and the whole country is aware of it,” he added.
Meanwhile, Activists of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and other civil society organisations staged a protest at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park on Friday against the Election Commission and alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, while members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), along with opposition leaders, staged protests near Jantar Mantar in Delhi, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Heavy police deployment was seen at Shivaji Park in Mumbai in view of the protest call. In Delhi, security was tightened in central Delhi after police denied permission for the proposed demonstration and imposed prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.
In Delhi, members of SFI and DYFI staged a protest near Jantar Mantar against the Election Commission and the SIR exercise, with CPI(M) leaders demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The protest was held despite Delhi Police denying permission for the proposed demonstration and imposing prohibitory restrictions under Section 163 of the BNSS.
Delhi Police imposed Section 163 of the BNSS in New Delhi, under which assemblies of five or more people, processions, demonstrations, picketing, dharnas, slogans and speeches are prohibited without prior written permission.
Police also barred the carrying of firearms, banners, placards, lathis, swords, sticks and similar articles. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation closed entry and exit at 11 stations until further notice, including Janpath, Patel Chowk, Central Secretariat, Rajiv Chowk, Seva Teerth, Mandi House, Lok Kalyan Marg, INA, Chawri Bazar, Ramakrishna Ashram Marg and New Delhi. Interchange facilities remained available at select stations.
The protests come amid continuing opposition-led and civil society demonstrations over the functioning of the Election Commission and the SIR exercise.