I.N.D.I.A. Bloc Sept. 30 Meet On SIR, EC

The parties have been in touch with each other on the issue and are discussing a joint response, sources said. They indicated that a discussion on coordinated protests is also likely.

Trinamul Congress national joint secretary Derek O'Brien said the demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar's removal would remain central to the opposition campaign. Other demands, including changes in the CEC selection process and opposition to the SIR, would also be pursued.

"First, GK (Gyanesh Kumar) has to GO. Certain other demands have been raised as well. Those demands are very much in place, including how a CEC is selected and how SIR was a fraud. We will work unitedly, purposefully and swiftly," O'Brien said.

Former West Bengal chief minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she has conveyed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that the Opposition parties should sit together. “A meeting of the I.N.D.I.A. bloc will most likely be held in Delhi’s Constitution Club on September 30,” she said.

Banerjee also spoke to CPM general secretary M.A. Baby, who had reached out to the I.N.D.I.A. bloc and other Opposition leaders seeking a wider mobilisation over the Election Commission issue.

The Congress Working Committee is scheduled to meet on September 29 to discuss its strategy on the issue.

The developments have also brought West Bengal's bitter political rivals, the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and the CPM, on the same page on the Election Commission issue.

The Left parties are seeking broader cooperation beyond the I.N.D.I.A. bloc. After a meeting of Left parties, Baby said letters had been sent to non-NDA parties seeking their cooperation.

The outreach included parties such as the Biju Janata Dal, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), besides I.N.D.I.A. bloc constituents.

“This is a situation that demands larger cooperation between Opposition parties,” Baby said.
On being asked about CJP, he said the party had played an important role in forcing former education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign and had emerged as a socio-political force, particularly among young people.

He said political parties should not assume that only recognised parties represented in Parliament or state Assemblies could shape the future.

Baby also called for Opposition parties, civil society groups and citizens to come together over concerns surrounding the electoral process.

Opposition parties are also working on a fresh notice for Kumar's removal, which is likely to be submitted in both Houses of Parliament after being vetted by legal experts. This would be the opposition's third such attempt.
The latest mobilisation follows a news report that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on 14 occasions over decisions and orders related to the SIR exercise.