The Congress said on Monday it will launch a series of protests under the banner “Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao” across the country to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and the restoration of the names of eligible voters among the 130 million deleted from the electoral rolls.

Rahul Gandhi asked the NSUI, which has been largely absent from the protests, to step up its efforts. (ANI)

The party held a preparatory meeting attended by all general secretaries, in-charges and state unit chiefs. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi led the discussions.

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The AAP quit the bloc after the Lok Sabha elections, while the DMK snapped ties in June this year after the Congress lent support to the TVK government .At the group’s last meeting on September 30, several parties nudged the Congress to find a way to bring the DMK back into the alliance. The TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Left have retained ties with the AAP.

Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal announced the programmes, and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh said, “We are inviting all Opposition parties to participate in the march and the Ramlila Maidan rally.”

The party will organise month-long village-level meetings beginning October 25. “In these meetings, our party workers will identify genuine voters who have been deleted from the voters’ list. We are naming our workers ‘vote rakshaks’,” Venugopal said.

On November 25 and 26, the Congress will take out six yatras from Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan to mark its protests on Constitution Day.

At the meeting, Kharge said the Chief Election Commissioner must be removed because he knew he had been “caught by the people”. He cautioned that the BJP might try to distract public attention, but said the party must complete its task. He emphasised that genuine voters must be restored to the electoral rolls.

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Gandhi told party leaders that the issue concerned the people. Wary of the CJP’s growing popularity and its ability to attract young people, Gandhi told them, “You must protest in a way that catches people’s attention so that they can join you.” He asked the NSUI, which has been largely absent from the protests, to step up its efforts.

“The EC has become the cheating commission of India. After so many observations from the Supreme Court and the Opposition parties, and after objections from the two commissioners, he is misleading the people. He is also misleading them on Form 6. He is not stepping down even as the entire country wants him to be removed. We are not going to allow him to remain in the chair. We will ensure that he is removed,” Venugopal said.