00:00All right, joining me now is senior TMC leader and Lok Sabha MP from the TMC, Mr. Saugatha Roy.
00:07Mr. Roy, thank you for taking the time out and joining us.
00:09Strong statement issued by the India Alliance members starting from the 2nd October itself.
00:15But, you know, Mr. Roy, do you think to limit it to just the demand for resignation of the CEC
00:23would have been prudent?
00:24Asking for the resignation of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister is a little untenable?
00:36No, nothing is untenable.
00:38You see, this meeting was called in a short time.
00:44It was called after Bibi, Secretary of the CPM, contracted Mongta Manoj.
00:54who then contacted Rahulji.
00:57And then Congress took the initiative in calling a bigger meeting.
01:03So, in this short time, no final decisions could be taken.
01:08In today's meeting, the demand for removal of Ganesh Kumar was raised.
01:15Also, the demand for removal of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah has been raised.
01:23I think it's entirely tenable.
01:25Ultimately, whatever is assigned to the CEC, Chief Election Commissioner,
01:32can be assigned to Modi and Shah because they amended the law
01:39so that they had the final say in appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner.
01:46So, when the Chief Election Commissioner is questioned, Modi and Shah are also questioned.
01:52So, this is entirely tenable and it's a good thing that the India Alliance has chalked out an action program
02:02to launch their protest against CEC and the Prime Minister and the Home Minister.
02:16You know, Mr. Roy, the CEC reports to the President, the EC is a constitutional body
02:23and bringing in and roping in the Prime Minister and the Home Minister,
02:27do you think that's prudent?
02:32It's quite prudent.
02:35CEC is a constitutional body formed by Article 324.
02:42We are trying to move an impeachment motion,
02:46which is the constitutional way of removing the Chief Election Commissioner.
02:54But you have to remember that this present government,
02:57they amended the law so that the government had a majority
03:04in this election of the Chief Election Commissioner.
03:07So, when we are speaking against the Chief Election Commissioner,
03:14the Prime Minister and the Home Minister should be roped in
03:18because ultimately, if the election process fails altogether,
03:22which we want, which we have seen,
03:25then the Prime Minister and the Home Minister also become meaningless.
03:37Mr. Roy, I want to ask you because it's a six-month plan,
03:42drawn-out plan that the India Alliance has chalked out
03:45on how the India Alliance will come together,
03:48protest, demanding these resignations.
03:50There are, in the offing, two big elections that are coming in,
03:54which is Punjab and the state of Uttar Pradesh.
03:58Do you think, then, the parties that have stakeholders,
04:03parties like the Congress, Samajwadi parties,
04:06party that are stakeholders in these two states,
04:09then opt out of that election, boycott that election,
04:12because you have already said that any election under the CEC
04:15is a rigged unfair election?
04:21True, but we have not talked about boycotting the election.
04:26We want to point out that any election held under the aegis
04:31of this present CEC will be an unfair election.
04:36That doesn't mean that anybody has talked about boycotting election,
04:41let alone the state elections of U.P. and Punjab.
04:46But the India Bloc is formed of many parties.
04:50Many parties who have different points of view,
04:54but they are one in wanting the removal of
04:58Chief Election Commissioner and Modi and Shah.
05:04The India Bloc parties have differences with other parties
05:10in their state.
05:13But we have chalked out a six-month program of action
05:17and we shall follow this program of action.
05:28Mr. Roy, one final question,
05:30because there is a parallel protest by a pressure group
05:33on the 2nd of October in Mumbai
05:35that is being supported
05:36by the likes of Uddhav Sena, Uddhav Thakre as well.
05:41Where is the stand of the TMC on that?
05:44Have you pledged support to that protest?
05:51You see, we have been supporting the Kokoroj Janata Party,
05:55the CJP, from the beginning.
05:57They are a non-political outfit.
06:01But when they raised the question of removal
06:04of the Education Minister,
06:06we supported it morally.
06:08So it is from 2nd October,
06:11the Kokoroj Janata Party
06:14has charted a program of action.
06:17We have moral support.
06:19The details will be intimated to the public
06:23as time comes.
06:30All right.
06:31Okay.
06:32Mr. Roy, thank you
06:33for taking the time out this evening
06:34and joining us.
06:36Appreciate the time, sir.
