Maharashtra Opp to protest on November 1 over ‘bogus voters’ in rolls

The delegation of top Opposition leaders had met the state’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and State Election Commissioner (SEC) last week, alleging problems in the voters’ list.

The CEO, after the meeting, has already communicated to the Election Commission of India about the Opposition’s demand to hold a Special Summary Revision (SSR) of the electoral rolls.

“After two days of meetings with Election Commission officials, we did not get satisfactory answers to the issues we raised. Therefore we have decided to hold a public march against the Election Commission on this issue in Mumbai on November 1,” said Raut.

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray asked the State Election Commission (SEC) not to hold the upcoming local body elections without rectification in the voters’ lists and asked his party workers to visit every house across the state to check the voters.

Thackeray slammed the ruling BJP for questioning the Opposition’s demand to rectify mistakes in the voters’ list.

He even showed videos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his tenure as the Gujarat chief minister, where he questioned the actions of the then Election Commission and warned it not to indulge in fraudulent methods.

“Am I saying anything different from what he (Modi) was saying then? The present ruling side, when it was in Opposition, was saying the same and changed its tune when it came to power,” he said.

Thackeray also showed the videos of ruling MLAs Vilas Bhumare and Sanjay Gaikwad (Shiv Sena), Satish Chavan (NCP SP) and Mandal Mhatre (BJP), where they claimed and alleged voter list manipulation.

“Dare to take the elections without rectification in the voters’ list. I ask all my party workers to start visiting every house in the area. Check the voters’ list and find out how hundreds of people are living in a single house. Do it in your area and also in the state. Help other parties as well for this. I want to reiterate that do not hold elections until the voters’ list is sanitised,” said Thackeray.

Earlier, the MNS chief launched an attack on the Adani Group and the government for allegedly facilitating every project the group wants.

He alleged that the government is planning to close down the existing domestic airport (in Santacruz), which is with the Adani group.

“By closing this and shifting operations to the upcoming Vadhwan airport in Palghar, the entire land will be made open for development,” he alleged.

“From Lok Sabha to Zilla Parishad, why do they want to keep the power with them? To help these businesses do what they want. How do they keep in power? By violating the voters’ lists. I want all of you to keep this in mind,” said Thackeray.

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