Raj and Uddhav Thackeray lead Garjana Morcha against CEC Gyanesh Kumar in Mumbai

The Garjana Morcha organised by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS chief Raj Thackeray and Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar received a strong response with a large number of citizens turning up to participate in the protestLeaders from the Congress Nationalist Congress PartySharadchandra Pawar NCPSP and Peasants and Workers Party of India PWP also joined the march Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat NCPSP leaders Jayant Patil Anil Deshmukh and Shashikant Shinde and PWP leader Jayant Patil were among the protesterspopcorn number2024 descYear Lok Sabha and Assembly polls were held in state classDefaultRaj poses questionsAddressing the gathering Raj Thackeray launched a sharp attack on the ruling government and the Election Commission of India ECI saying ldquoI have been saying since 201718 that vote theft has been taking place I had met several leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Mamata Banerjee and raised this issue with them as well I had pointed out that something was wrong with the way elections were being conductedrdquoRaj and Uddhav Thackeray lead the protest march in South Mumbai on SundayRaj also pointed out that the addition of 40 to 60 lakh voters between the last Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections needed to be explained ldquoAfter Mahayuti secured a clear majority in Assembly poll there was silence in Maharashtra What kind of victory was thatrdquo Raj said ldquoThe BJP got 244 crore votes in Lok Sabha elections and in the state Assembly elections that took place six months later BJP got 316 crore votes How is this jump possiblerdquo he addedRaj also said that people were not angry with those in power but they were against the way in which the ruling party was exercising power ldquoThe people of the country must decide who is in power and who is in opposition not the Election Commissionrdquo the MNS chief statedUddhavrsquos allegationsUddhav addressing the crowd said ldquoThe SIR Special Intensive Revision exercise was carried out to weed out Bangladeshis from voter lists How many Bangladeshis staying in our country illegally did the government findrdquoProtesters raise slogans seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh KumarHe also alleged that Gyanesh Kumar was the ldquoweapon of the governmentrdquo claiming that two crore voters had been deleted from Maharashtra during the SIR process and that similar deletions had been done in West Bengal and Tamil NaduUddhav also criticised the Supreme Court for not taking up an urgent hearing on SIR in West Bengal earlier this week ahead of the bypolls in the state The Sena UBT chief accused the BJP of not only ldquostealingrdquo votes and lawmakers but also the donation from the Ram temple in AyodhyaAadityarsquos absence is noticedWhile Rajrsquos wife Sharmila and their daughter Urvashi and son Amit Thackeray were present at the morcha Shiv Sena UBT leader Aaditya Thackeray was not which became a topic of discussion among protesters It was stated that he was unable to attend the morcha as he was allegedly down with fever or unwell Rashmi Thackeray Aadityarsquos mother was also not seen at the demonstrationPolitical demandShiv Sena UBT Shakha Pramukh Sudhakar Ahire accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of acting at the behest of his ldquopolitical mastersrdquo and demanded his resignation ldquoThe massive turnout at the protest march clearly shows that there is anger against the ECI in the minds of people and so Gyanesh Kumar should resignrdquo Ahire saidECI positionThe allegations around the electoralroll revision have been disputed by the ECI which has maintained that decisions of the threemember commission including those relating to SIR were taken collectively and unanimouslyProtesters filled the roadsThe roads around the Fitzgerald Fountain crossing commonly known as Metro Cinema Chowk were filled with protesters carrying the Tricolour on Sunday The Thackeray cousins joined the march against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Election Commission of India ECI around noon walking from Fitzgerald Fountain towards the stage in front of the BMC headquarters Protesters followed them along Mahapalika Marg filling the road The rally ended around 130 pm after speeches by the two leaders and the national anthem Protesters were then asked to clear the roads By around 2 pm vehicular movement had returned to the area Madhulika Ram KavatturVoices of concernAkanksha Sirsat protesterlsquoWe came for the protests in July for the NEET issues and are here again for yet another issue discovered this time with the ECI I have seen my own grandmother whose name has not been in the voter list since the municipal elections this January This time we are here demanding the resignation as well as transparency from the Election CommissionrsquoPrachiti G professionallsquoI was suspicious of such issues happening since the January elections I had seen a few reports about the NOTA votes turning into votes for the ruling party With the recent reports it has just been another addition to that I am here protesting so that the people of the country have a truthful right to votersquo