President to meet INDIA bloc delegation over poll roll dispute

Rashtrapati Bhavan scheduled an 8 p.m. meeting Friday, October 9, between President Droupadi Murmu and a 10-member INDIA bloc delegation, giving the opposition alliance an opportunity to present its objections to electoral-roll revisions and its demand for the chief election commissioner’s resignation. The bloc has alleged irregularities in the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and is seeking the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The allegations are the opposition’s claims; the supplied reports do not establish that irregularities occurred. The meeting was confirmed by the President’s office on Friday morning. The delegation is expected to include Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee, Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary M.A. Baby and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav. The appointment followed a request first made on October 2, according to Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal.