No need to resign: Athawale backs CEC

Srinagar: Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday extended support to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, asserting that he does not need to resign over the allegations of deliberate voter deletions.

“Out of the 13 crore voter deletions, six crore were due to change of residence for various reasons. Gyanesh Kumar ji does not need to resign over the vote chori allegations,” Athawale, who heads the Republican Party of India (RPI), told reporters here.

The RPI is a constituent of BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

Defending the police action against the protesters in Delhi on Saturday, Athawale said anyone who indulges in violence will have to go to jail.

“Protest is democratic right of people, but protests have to be peaceful. A person indulging in violence will have to go (to jail),” he said. On Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” allegations, Athawale said the same could be said about the Congress leader.

“We can say that Congress leaders have won due to fake votes. Things cannot work like that,” he added.

The minister also questioned the motive of Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) joining the protests at Jantar Mantar, saying it only invites “chaos”.