Kolkata, Aug 13 (PTI) Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Wednesday criticised the Election Commission over the manner in which the special intensive revision of electoral rolls was conducted, claiming that the exercise was an attempt to snatch the voting rights of people.
Chowdhury, who took part in a demonstration against the poll panel, said, “SIR is not a new thing in India. It has happened before. We are not worried about the SIR itself.”
“What concerns us is the Election Commission’s attempt to snatch away the voting rights of ordinary people. We are protesting against this, and we will not allow it to happen," he asserted.
Chowdhury said party leader Rahul Gandhi has made it clear that “we believe in one man, one vote”.
“There are visible loopholes in the current system... And our opposition to these undemocratic practices is principled and unwavering,” the Congress leader said.
On TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee's recent meeting with Gandhi, he said there was no room for speculation around it.
“The TMC and (its party supremo) Mamata Banerjee have realised that they cannot fight against the SIR alone, and that’s why they are trying to come closer to Congress and Rahul Gandhi, who is a gentleman. He welcomed them with an open mind,” Chowdhury stated.
Asked to comment on the remarks of Abhishek Banerjee regarding the dissolution of the Lok Sabha, he said, “It was formed following a constitutional process. It cannot be dissolved due to the wish of a single person. There are specific rules that govern this.”
Chowdhury also alleged that the ruling TMC in West Bengal was trying to keep the issue of alleged harassment of Bengali-speaking migrant workers alive due to political interests.
"If the state government could issue identity cards to the migrant workers, most of the problems could be resolved... The protests in Bengal seem to reflect the TMC’s political interest in keeping the issue alive,” he added.