Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) party president Prakash Ambedkar
Pune: Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) party president Prakash Ambedkar has questioned why Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has not brought all opposition parties together for a joint protest over the ongoing Election Commission of India (ECI) issue, asserting that the matter is “bigger than any one party”. Ambedkar said, “LoP is organising a protest on behalf of his party ( Congress ), and that is good. Ambedkar claimed that a large proportion of voters affected by deletions belonged to minority communities, while the remaining voters include people who, according to his assessment, were unlikely to support the ruling party anyway.
Ambedkar was referring to Rahul Gandhi’s demand for the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, following reports of formal objections raised by other Election Commissioners over decisions related to electoral-roll management and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. But this is an issue concerning the entire country. In such a situation, LoP should bring all opposition parties together. Why he is not doing this is a matter of research.
Ambedkar on Sunday said Rahul Gandhi’s decision to protest was welcome, but argued that the opposition should collectively raise concerns over the electoral process.
“Rahul Gandhi should invite everyone to join the protest to prove that he is loyal to the demand he is raising,” Ambedkar said, adding that a broader opposition mobilisation would give greater strength to the issue.