Congress Vows to Continue Protests Against Chief Election Commissioner Until Electoral Reforms Are Implemented

AICC general secretary K C Venugopal on Sunday said the Congress would continue its agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar until he was removed from office and steps were taken to ensure an impartial and transparent electoral system. Speaking to reporters, Venugopal said the protests would continue across states and districts, with only a brief pause for the Diwali festival. He described the November 1 rally organised by the Congress in New Delhi as one of the strongest protests in the country and said the party's campaign was directed 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 deletions from electoral rolls could deprive poor people not only of their voting rights but also of access to government benefits, which he claimed were increasingly being linked to voter identity cards.