Left Parties Demand CEC’s Removal In Visakhapatnam

Visakhapatnam:The CPI and CPI(M) staged separate protests in Visakhapatnam on Friday, demanding the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the immediate withdrawal of the special intensive revision (SIR) process. They alleged that the exercise had led to the large-scale deletion of names from electoral rolls.

CPI(M) activists took out a rally from the party’s district office in Pithapuram Colony to the National Highway at Maddilapalem, where they staged a dharna. Addressing the gathering, CPI(M) district leaders B. Ganga Rao and P. Mani alleged that the SIR exercise was being used to deprive citizens of their voting rights and demanded that it be scrapped immediately.

The leaders accused the Election Commission of undermining democratic principles and alleged that crores of names had been deleted from electoral rolls. They urged the public to unite to protect voting rights and democratic processes.

Meanwhile, the CPI organised a protest near the Mettumuthyalamma Temple in Kancharapalem, under the North Assembly constituency. CPI district assistant secretary Patrapalli Chandrasekhar, who participated in the demonstration, demanded the Chief Election Commissioner's resignation and an immediate halt to the SIR process.

Chandrasekhar alleged that the Election Commission’s functioning had raised concerns among opposition parties and sections of the public. Citing media reports of alleged irregularities in electoral procedures, he called for a judicial inquiry into the SIR exercise and demanded the restoration of names removed from electoral rolls.

He warned that the Left parties, along with student and youth organisations, would intensify their agitation if their demands were not addressed.

CPI(M) and CPI leaders, including RKSV Kumar, V. Krishna Rao, and Neyyala Nagabhushan Rao, along with other party activists, joined the protests.