Jaipur, Sep 28 (IANS) The Congress leaders and workers on Monday took to the streets in Jaipur over the alleged “vote theft” and irregularities in electoral rolls, demanding action over what the party described as electoral malpractices.
The demonstration was led by Rajasthan Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra and attended by several senior leaders, including former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Tikaram Jully, former Assembly Speaker Dr C.P. Joshi, and AICC General Secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
The event began with a public meeting at Shaheed Smarak, where senior Congress leaders targeted the BJP governments at the Centre and the state.
Following the meeting, hundreds of party workers marched towards the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Rajasthan, intending to stage a gherao. However, police stopped the march midway using barricades and a heavy deployment of personnel.
A confrontation followed between the protesters and police. After the situation escalated and a scuffle broke out, police used water cannons to disperse the crowd.
The Congress protest focused mainly on alleged irregularities in the Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls. Party leaders alleged that voter lists had been manipulated on a large scale and demanded accountability from the Election Commission.
Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also addressed the gathering and raised allegations against the Election Commission. Gehlot claimed that crores of names had been deleted during the electoral-roll revision process and alleged that notices had been sent to residences of prominent leaders.
He further accused the Election Commission of being biased in favour of the BJP and described the protest over alleged “vote theft” as a broader struggle concerning democracy.
Gehlot called upon Congress workers to take the issue to households across the state and alleged that attempts are being made to undermine democratic institutions.
The demonstration was briefly thrown into chaos even before the main programme began when two groups of Congress workers reportedly clashed near the stage. A heated exchange between leaders escalated into a scuffle, prompting police personnel to intervene.
In view of the planned protest and the possibility of a gherao of the Election Commission’s office, Jaipur Commissionerate Police deployed a large number of personnel along the route from Shaheed Smarak towards the Election Office.
Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) personnel were also deployed at key locations and along major roads. Barricades were erected to prevent protesters from reaching the Election Commission office.
–IANS
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