‘No Matter How Much You Protest, Gyanesh Kumar Will Not Resign’: Athawale

Srinagar, Oct 11 (UNI): Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale on Sunday defended Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amid opposition protests over alleged voter deletions, asserting that no amount of agitation would force him to resign and maintaining that the Election Commission had acted correctly in revising electoral rolls.

“No matter how much you protest, Gyanesh Kumar will not resign. He will not give up,” Athawale said at a press conference in Srinagar.

Athawale said opposition parties had the democratic right to protest but should ensure that their demonstrations did not inconvenience the public. He also criticised what he described as repeated allegations of electoral malpractice against the Election Commission without adequate grounds.

Defending the revision of electoral rolls, Athawale claimed that around 13 crore names had been deleted across the country following scrutiny. He attributed the deletions to migration, duplicate registrations, prolonged absence from voting and the deaths of registered electors.

According to Athawale, around six crore people had migrated from their original places of residence, while approximately one crore voters were registered at more than one location. He further claimed that nearly 2.8 crore entries belonged to deceased voters.

The minister accused Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other opposition parties of politicising the issue and attempting to corner the government. Rejecting allegations of vote theft, he argued that the presence of polling agents representing candidates at polling stations and during counting made large-scale electoral manipulation difficult.

“It is not right to complain to the Election Commission. Rahul Gandhi's stand is against the Constitution. Rahul Gandhi and the opposition's stand is deliberately trying to corner the government. They are trying to give trouble to the people by protests,” he said.

Taking a swipe at the opposition, Athawale questioned the involvement of the Cockroach Janta Party in the demonstrations. He said the party had earlier raised concerns over the alleged NEET examination paper leak in support of students but argued that its agitation against the Election Commission was unwarranted.

On restrictions on demonstrations at Jantar Mantar, Athawale said the government had imposed curbs on protests and warned that participants could face arrest. Recalling his own experiences of participating in demonstrations under previous governments, he referred to protests in Maharashtra over atrocities against Dalits and said demonstrators had also faced police action and restrictions at the time.

His remarks come amid continuing opposition protests over electoral roll revisions and allegations of irregularities in the electoral process. Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders have raised concerns over voter deletions and demanded accountability from the Election Commission.

Athawale, however, acknowledged that errors could occur during the revision of electoral rolls and urged the poll panel to maintain transparency and safeguard the voting rights of every eligible citizen.

“Every person has the right to vote,” he said, adding that voters whose names had been removed mistakenly could apply for their inclusion in the electoral rolls again.

The minister reiterated that opposition parties were free to hold demonstrations but should ensure that their protests did not cause unnecessary hardship to the public. He also criticised incidents involving alleged attempts to breach barricades and clashes with police, saying such situations warranted intervention by law enforcement agencies.