The INDIA bloc’s upcoming rally in New Delhi to demand the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar will include students bodies and civil society organisations, people familiar with the matter said, adding that the initiative is in line with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi’s position that “all protests are one.
On September 29, the opposition INDIA bloc parties met in New Delhi to announce a series of protests to demand Gyanesh Kumar’s removal. It included a rally at the Ramlila Maidan on November 1. The original plan included the opposition allies but with students and civil society bodies rapidly engaging with protests, the changed political situation prompted the grouping to include the students and other organisations in the rally.
Rally will include students and civic society members
“The rally will include members of civic society and students. There are no divisions. All of us are working together,” Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha member Derek O’Brien said on Sunday.
The proposed Ramlila Maidan rally comes close on the heels of a series of demonstrations in the Capital against the CEC that included a march to the Supreme Court and another from Parliament to the Rahstrapati Bhavan to meet President Droupadi Murmu. The protests led to a fresh confrontation between the Opposition and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with Union home minister Amit Shah pointing out that the Congress was out of power in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu for decades, questioning the validity of the Opposition’s argument against SIR.
In the last gathering of INDIA bloc leaders at Rahul Gandhi’s Sunehri Bagh road residence, prominent student leaders including AISA president Neha Bora and Aishe Ghosh of SFI were invited along with civil activists Yogendra Yadav and advocate Prashant Bhushan. Bora was also invited to address the press. Two days later, Gandhi met the NSUI and IYC leaders who were injured or got cases filed against them during the protests.
Also read: DMK backs student protests against CEC Gyanesh Kumar, accuses Congress and TVK of ‘double standards’
CJP invitation remains unclear ahead of rally
It is not clear if the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will get an invitation to join the November 1 rally. During the past two weeks, the Congress has changed its stance vis-a-vis the CJP: from dubbing it as a front of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to Rahul Gandhi recognising the outfit’s protests. When CJP activists were arrested trying to go to Jantar Mantar to wave the Tricolour, Gandhi took to X to air his views. “Waving the Tricolour at Jantar Mantar in a peaceful protest is not a crime. Jailing youth for it is an act of cowardice. Students. Youth. Journalists. The INDIA bloc. Different banners, one cause. All protests are one: citizens demanding their constitutional rights. Jantar Mantar belongs to the people of India. We will reclaim it,” he said.
When asked if CJP will join the rally, O’Brien said all are more than welcome.
CPI(ML) Liberation chief Dipankar Bhattacharya said, “These details are being worked out. A coordination committee will be set up soon to oversee the plans for the protests and chalk out the details.”
The proposed committee is expected to have 10-15 leaders who are primarily based out of Delhi. The panel will meet on a regular basis to decide the details of the protest plans and oversee the arrangements.
Also read: CJP to 'restrategise after Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka's release': Abhijeet Dipke on anti-CEC stir
Delhi Police clears Ramlila Maidan demonstration
The Delhi Police on Saturday granted permission for Congress to hold a demonstration at the Ramlila Maidan on November 1, and issued a no-objection certificate in this regard. In addition, the venue has been reserved by the party from October 25 to November 3, police said.
“This is the decision that we have taken in the consultative meeting of INDIA bloc, which we had... We hope this 1st November rally would be a resounding success. We are also considering various other options apart from this November 1st rally. So, we will have consultation among INDIA bloc forces, parties...,” CPI(M) chief MA Baby said.