Hyderabad: Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday said that the ongoing struggle to safeguard the voting rights of the citizens is similar to another freedom movement.
Recalling the Congress leaders’ struggle against British colonial rule for India’s freedom, he observed that the same situation has now arisen where a struggle is necessary to protect the right to vote guaranteed by the Constitution.
Speaking at a meeting held on Monday at Telangana Bhavan in Delhi as part of the ‘Vote Bachao… Desh Bachao’ (Save Vote… Save Country) campaign, CM Revanth Reddy remarked that, on the lines of the ‘Simon Go Back’ movement during the freedom struggle, there is a need to fight with the slogans of ‘Gyanesh Go Back’ and ‘SIR Go Back’ to safeguard the right to vote.
According to a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), he highlighted that the fight against ‘Vote chori’ is being waged under the leadership of Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, and leaders of the INDIA alliance partners.
The Chief Minister alleged that the Modi government conspired to delete voters’ names under the guise of voter list revision in collusion with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
He stated that the Constitution, drafted by B.R. Ambedkar after independence, empowered the people with the vote as a strong weapon. The right to vote played an important role in ending monarchical and dynastic rule and placing power in the hands of the people, he said.
The Chief Minister observed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls had been conducted in the past as well. During Jawaharlal Nehru’s tenure as Prime Minister in 1950, the SIR was used to grant voting rights to those who did not possess them.
People were asked to furnish the details of which regions they had moved to following the partition of the country and settled.
The SIR was conducted during the Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee regimes. The primary focus was on including eligible individuals whose names were missing from the electoral rolls.
“In contrast, under the current Modi-Amit Shah administration, attempts are being made to remove the names of people who already possess voting rights,” he added.
The Chief Minister said the Central Government exploited the ED, CBI, Income Tax Department, and Narcotics Control Bureau to target political opponents. Now, the Centre brought in the SIR because it found it difficult to counter the political rivals using those agencies alone.
Stating that the Election Commission is a constitutional body and functions independently and impartially, he cautioned that using such an institution for political purposes is detrimental to democracy.
CM Revanth Reddy expressed concern that if the credibility of the Election Commission is undermined, public faith in the democratic system will be eroded.
The Congress leader recalled that the Election Commission previously functioned under the leadership of a single commissioner, but a three-commissioner system was introduced during P.V. Narasimha Rao’s government, which brought greater transparency to the institution.
The Chief Minister noted that, in the past, transparency was given top priority in the appointment of election commissioners by involving the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the Leader of the Opposition. The Modi government altered this system in 2023, with the Union Home Minister replacing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the appointment process.
The CM criticised these changes, asserting that they were made to facilitate decisions favourable to the government. The Chief Minister emphasised the need to ensure impartiality in the appointment of election commissioners.
Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, ministers, PCC President Mahesh Kumar Goud, AICC observer Sachin Sawant, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and other important leaders participated.
(IANS)
