Hans News Service Rajamahendravaram

A roundtable by all political parties and people’s organisations under the aegis of the CPM in Rajamahendravaram on Tuesday demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, alleging that the independence of constitutional institutions was being undermined. The meeting, chaired by CPM district secretary T Arun, discussed changes in the appointment of Election Commissioners, deletion of large numbers of names during revision of electoral rolls, centralisation of powers through ECI-Net and concerns over EVMs and VVPATs. Speakers stressed the need for greater transparency and accountability to restore public confidence in the Election Commission. Arun called upon political parties, people’s organisations and the public to unite to protect democratic institutions. He said an all-party Satyagraha would be organised at the Dandi March statues near Kambala Cheruvu in Rajamahendravaram on October 2. He alleged that the Centre had attempted to block around 1.75 lakh social media posts, including posts criticising government policies, and said such action would affect freedom of expression. He also criticised the changes introduced through the 2023 law governing the appointment of Election Commissioners, alleging that they had increased the Centre’s influence. Former MP and YSRCP spokesperson Margani Bharat Ram said the appointment procedure for Election Commissioners should be reviewed. Referring to reports that two Election Commissioners had recorded written objections to decisions of the Chief Election Commissioner on 14 occasions, he sought clarity from the Election Commission. He demanded that voter registration and deletion procedures remain within the jurisdiction of BLOs, ELOs and EROs and sought an explanation from the Election Commission on changes to Form 6. He also called for the reasons for every deletion from electoral rolls to be made public through a dedicated dashboard and sought an appeal mechanism for those whose names were removed.

YSRCP central committee member Jakkampudi Vijayalakshmi said government institutions should not be used for the benefit of any ruling party. She said questions had been raised among sections of the public over the functioning of the Election Commission during the 2019 and 2024 elections.

GV Sundar, correspondent of Rajiv Gandhi College, sought separate disclosure of details concerning deceased persons, duplicate entries, migrated voters and eligible voters whose names were removed during the SIR. He called for simplifying Form 6 for young voters and an audit of election software by independent institutions such as the IITs.

Congress district president TK Visweswara Reddy said every vote should have equal value and election institutions should function free from political interference.

Congress city leader Balepalli Murali sought an independent and comprehensive inquiry into allegations of irregularities in the electoral process.