The ongoing conflict between the Election Commission and the opposition parties in the country’s capital New Delhi has now reached a new and very aggressive turn. The Supreme Court protest march taken out by the opposition INDI alliance demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar is now getting open support from other political parties and youth organizations. Prominent leader of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), Abhijit Deepke, while openly supporting this big protest, has made it clear that this fight is not going to stop until Gyanesh Kumar resigns from the top post of Election Commission. He has termed this march organized in New Delhi as a very decisive and historic step towards saving democracy.
Strongly welcoming the march taken out by the MPs and leaders of opposition parties towards the Supreme Court on the streets of the capital on Monday, Abhijit Deepke said that it had become extremely necessary for the opposition to come together on one platform against the crisis that is looming over the democratic institutions of the country today. While talking to the media, he stressed that the entire country and especially all the political forces present in the opposition will have to unite and raise their voice to protect the constitutional rights of the people. Deepke made it clear in a warning tone that as long as Gyanesh Kumar remains on the post of Chief Election Commissioner, this spark of protest will not subside. He claimed that in the coming days, this movement will not be limited to the national capital only, but similar big mass movements will be seen in every corner of the country and in every state.
Abhijit Deepke has also raised very strong questions on the role of the country’s top court and its response to the alleged irregularities related to the Election Commission. He cited the serious matter of alleged deletion of names of lakhs of voters from the voter lists in West Bengal. He expressed direct objection to the court’s argument that the voters who were deprived of voting this time can exercise their franchise in the next elections. Rejecting this argument completely, Deepke asked in a harsh manner whether the Supreme Court can ever tell the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to contest elections this time and try his luck in the next elections? If the court cannot say this to a leader holding a constitutional post, then on what basis can such a thing be said to the common citizens and voters of the country regarding their basic democratic rights?
This entire political development has come to light at such a critical time when there is a huge political uproar across the country after a social media post made by the Kerala unit of Congress demanding the resignation of Chief Justice (CJI) Surya Kant. When journalists wanted to know Abhijeet Deepke’s opinion on this controversial post and the demand for resignation of CJI, he clearly refused to comment directly on this controversy in a very measured manner. However, he added that his main concern is related to the impartiality of the Election Commission and the protection of the constitutional rights of the voters. He believes that unless accountability is fixed at the institutional level, public confidence in the democratic system cannot be restored, and that is why this protest against the current leadership of the Election Commission has become a common struggle of every citizen of the country.