'Secret mission involving 'Gyanesh Gupta' becomes public knowledge': Pawan Khera claims 'over 13cr voters disenfranchised through SIR'

Indore: Congress MP Pawan Khera on Friday accused the Centre of being "anti-Constitution" and alleged large-scale voter disenfranchisement through the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

Addressing a press conference on the ongoing Election Commission row, Khera said the framers of the Constitution, particularly Dr BR Ambedkar, had ensured that every vote carried equal value.

Also read: Congress protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar spread across India; Gaurav Gogoi detained, tear gas fired in Manipur


"When the framers of the Constitution, specifically Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, drafted it, one thing was abundantly clear and heavily emphasised: while other things might vary in scale or status, the value of every vote would be the same. However, the people currently in power are so anti-Constitution that they have categorised voters into distinct classes, VIPs and ordinary citizens," he said.

Referring to Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's Thursday press conference on alleged vote theft, Khera claimed more than 13 crore voters have been disenfranchised across the country.

"Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi laid out the entire script of the vote-theft in detail before you. The 'I told you so' moment keeps recurring in Rahul Gandhi's life; he has predicted everything beforehand. He has been raising the issue of vote theft, and the role of the SIR, not just today, but for the past year and a half," Khera said.

"A secret mission involving our 'Gyanesh Gupta' has been underway. That secret mission is no longer secret; it has now become public knowledge. Sandhu ji and Joshi ji spoiled their game. Everything was exposed," he added.

The press conference comes amid an escalating political row over the functioning of the Election Commission and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The Indian Express reported on Thursday that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected at least 14 times over 10 months to decisions and orders related to the SIR process.

On Friday, Congress launched protests across several states against the Election Commission, with party leaders demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation and legal action over alleged irregularities in electoral-roll management. The protest was organised by the Congress as part of its wider opposition to the functioning of the Election Commission and its demand for accountability in the conduct of elections.

Speaking to ANI, Congress Uttar Pradesh in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged that the Election Commission had failed to discharge its constitutional responsibility of conducting free, fair and transparent elections. "It is not an allegation; the crime has been proven. They have committed treason against the country. The Constitution had given them a responsibility to conduct free, fair, and transparent elections. And the powers they hold are given by the Constitution, not by the BJP," Gautam said.

Additionally, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi was detained by Assam Police on Friday during a protest demanding the resignation of the CEC.

Speaking to during the protest, Gogoi demanded Kumar's resignation and called for legal action against the Chief Election Commissioner over what he alleged were irregularities in the functioning of the Election Commission.

"Today, as people have come to know that Gyanesh Kumar Ji has committed a crime and committed an act of treason, he should resign today and legal action should be taken against him," Gogoi said.

Also read: CJP says will launch 'nationwide protests' from October 2 if CEC Gyanesh Kumar doesn’t quit by Saturday

"Legal action should be taken against them, and they should be arrested. Along with Gyanesh Kumar, the ones sitting behind him-their masters, Prime Minister Modi Ji and Home Minister Amit Shah Ji-should remember today that the country will not forgive them," he added.

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has rejected the suggestion that the reported objections represented institutional dissent, maintaining that internal observations are part of the normal functioning of a multi-member constitutional body and that final decisions relating to SIR were unanimous.