- Trinamool's Abhishek Banerjee demands Lok Sabha dissolution over voter list legitimacy doubts
- Banerjee claims selective revision of voter lists in Bihar and West Bengal
- Opposition MPs allege multiple voters under one EPIC number
The current Lok Sabha must be dissolved and fresh polls held because the legitimacy of the voter lists used in the last general election is under question, Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee has said, adding that he is ready to resign as an MP if needed.
"The BJP came to power using this voter list. The Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Defence Minister were elected based on this voter list. Let there be fresh elections. I will also resign if needed. All Trinamool MPs and other Opposition representatives will step down. Dissolve the Lok Sabha and conduct fresh elections," said Mr Banerjee, Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee's nephew and the party's national general secretary.
Targeting the poll body over the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in Bihar and West Bengal, he said, "You cannot be selective. Voter lists in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh are correct, but those in Bengal and Bihar are wrong? You (BJP) know that you will lose if elections are held fairly in Bihar. Conduct SIR if you want, but dissolve the Lok Sabha first. Then, carry out SIR across the country."
Mr Banerjee said the Opposition has presented proof of alleged irregularities in voter lists. "Under one EPIC number, there are multiple voters. And this is not data provided by any political party. This is the Election Commission's data. Why should the BJP defend the Election Commission?" he asked.
Days after Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi's allegations of voter list fraud in Karnataka's Mahadevapura Assembly segment, MPs from Opposition parties took out a protest march to the Election Commission's office in Delhi yesterday. Delhi Police blocked the march and detained the MPs. "If they had honest answers, they would have engaged in a discussion yesterday. Instead, the MPs were arbitrarily detained. Women MPs were harassed and dragged to the police station. Our MP, Mitali Bag, became unconscious," Mr Banerjee said.
In a show of Opposition unity, INDIA bloc MPs led by Mr Gandhi marched to the poll body's office yesterday, alleging collusion between the ruling BJP and the Election Commission. Mr Gandhi, his sister and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Trinamool's Derek O'Brien Mahua Moitra, Samajwadi Party's Akhilesh Yadav and NCP (SP)'s Supriya Sule were among the prominent MPs who took part in the march.
Delhi Police said the Opposition parties had permission to send a group of 30 MPs to meet poll officials, but they took out a rally with hundreds of people. The BJP said the Opposition MPs want to create "anarchy and instability" in the country.
