London "Stop Vote Chori" protest: hundreds rally at Parliament Square against CEC Gyanesh Kumar over SIR
Hundreds gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square on Saturday for a "Stop Vote Chori" protest against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the SIR of electoral rolls, while an India Diaspora UK counter-protest chanted "Modi, Modi" across the statue.
Several hundred protesters gathered at the Mahatma Gandhi statue in Parliament Square, London, on Saturday for a “Stop Vote Chori” demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of India’s electoral rolls, the Economic Times reports.
The protest was organised by the Indian Overseas Congress Youth wing with backing from SFI UK, the South Asia Solidarity Group and Save Democracy. Keynote speaker Dhruv Rathee told the gathering in Hindi: “We don’t want any foreign interference. I am here at Parliament Square to address Indians and NRIs.”
He added: “These protests will stop the moment the Chief Election Commissioner is replaced by a candidate that is chosen in agreement between the government and Leader of the Opposition.” Slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” and “Vande Mataram”, plus a reading of the Indian Constitution’s preamble, followed, PTI reported.
Across the statue, a smaller India Diaspora (ID) UK counter-protest chanted “Modi, Modi” as Metropolitan Police kept the groups apart, each side trying to drown out the other’s chants. ID UK founder Hirdesh Gupta said: “The Indian diaspora in the UK stands firmly, shoulder to shoulder, with Modi Ji and his government in their vision of a strong, united and developed India.”
The rally follows a smaller Friday protest and counter-protest outside the Indian High Commission, and an “Emergency Protest” on Tuesday. The Election Commission says the SIR exercise updates electoral rolls by identifying deceased, duplicate, shifted and ineligible entries.
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