MNS Chief Announces Morcha Against Election Commission Over Electoral Roll Allegations

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday (September 29) said that his party and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT) will take out a morcha against the Election Commission in Mumbai on October 4. The morcha will be held from Byculla to the BMC headquarters. Raj Thackeray said that the objective of the morcha is to unite all political parties under the tricolour against the Election Commission over allegations of manipulation of electoral rolls. Addressing a press conference in Mumbai along with his cousin and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Raj Thackeray said, "We will invite all parties for this morcha. The ruling parties are also welcome. This morcha is being taken out in protest against the functioning of the Election Commission. No party flag will be allowed in the morcha and the protesters will carry the tricolour." Several opposition parties have criticised and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over the Special In-depth Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Sukhbir Singh Joshi, the Election Commissioner of India, in less than a span of 14 months, said this in an interview to Indian Express.