BJD to Join Opposition March Over SIR, Demands CEC Gyanesh Kumar's Resignation

BJD Parliamentary Party leader in the Rajya Sabha Manas Mangaraj said the party's MPs would join the protest following instructions from party supremo and Leader of Opposition in the Odisha Assembly, Naveen Patnaik.

Mangaraj said Patnaik had previously called for the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, alleging concerns over the CEC's role in the SIR exercise.

The BJD leader claimed that more than 20 lakh voters in Odisha and over 13 crore voters across the country had allegedly been excluded from electoral rolls during the SIR exercise, raising concerns over the revision process.

Mangaraj also referred to the situation in Dhamnagar, where he alleged that 227 votes belonging to members of a minority community had been removed from the electoral rolls in a particular area without the knowledge of the concerned Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

He claimed that thousands of voters had reportedly been left out of the electoral rolls in the Dhamnagar Assembly constituency and said the voluntary retirement application submitted by the Odisha Chief Electoral Officer had added to the concerns surrounding the process.

The BJD leader also referred to the Supreme Court's observations during proceedings concerning Form 6, saying they had raised questions about earlier communications issued by the Election Commission in relation to the SIR exercise.

According to Mangaraj, the court had clarified that it had not issued any direction approving the modification in Form 6, contrary to what had previously been indicated by the Election Commission.

He alleged that the developments raised questions about the role of the Chief Election Commissioner in the electoral roll revision process.

Mangaraj stressed that the BJD has maintained equidistance from both the INDIA bloc and the NDA. He said the party's decision to participate in Tuesday's protest was based on its stated commitment to protecting democratic institutions and the integrity of the electoral process.

The BJD's participation adds another Opposition party to the protest, which is centred on the SIR exercise and demands for action against CEC Gyanesh Kumar.