India's opposition parties are set to intensify their agitation against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, with Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge scheduled to lead a march to the Supreme Court today (12 October) to protest alleged "vote theft".
The leaders had sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant between 4pm and 5pm to submit a memorandum demanding an end to alleged electoral malpractice, the resignation of Gyanesh Kumar, a halt to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and a return to paper ballots.
However, the chief justice declined to meet Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, saying similar matters were pending before the Supreme Court, sources said.
In response to Gandhi's request, Surya Kant said on Sunday that no orders could be passed on the administrative side. He asked the Congress leader to file a petition through the judicial process, which could be taken up tomorrow, the sources said.
The chief justice also said the Supreme Court could not interfere with the executive's functions on the administrative side, they added.
Rahul calls for march 'for democracy'
Earlier, Rahul Gandhi said opposition parties, civil society groups and young people would march to the Supreme Court on Monday to submit a memorandum to the chief justice on behalf of the country.
The Congress has named the protest "Chalo Delhi – March for Democracy". Participants were scheduled to gather at the Connaught Place–Barakhamba Road junction at 1:30pm local time.
In a post on X, Gandhi said the march would bring together Indians across party lines, gender, caste, community and state.
" Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Ajit Doval and Mohan Bhagwat cannot silence India's voice. These cowards cannot intimidate us. They will have to step aside. We will march together, with love, brotherhood and patriotism. Daro mat," he said, adding that "tomorrow, all of India will march to the Supreme Court".
He said they were marching as citizens to protect the Constitution.
Opposition alleges crackdown on protesters
Last Friday, leaders of several opposition parties belonging to the INDIA bloc marched from Parliament to Vijay Chowk and later submitted a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu.
Referring to security restrictions in Delhi on Saturday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told reporters in Bengaluru that nearly 32,000 police personnel and 7,500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel had been deployed.
"This itself shows how much the government fears the youth agitation," he said, alleging that the government did not want democracy to function peacefully.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal criticised the Delhi Police, saying that whenever people thought the force could not "hit new lows", it went lower.
He also alleged that reporters from news agencies, Malayalam journalists, independent bloggers and YouTubers, particularly women, had been detained and assaulted, describing the incidents as "completely unforgivable".
Another Congress general secretary, Jairam Ramesh, alleged that the use of force and attempts to suppress students, young people and opposition leaders amounted to an assault on the foundations of democracy.
Row over electoral roll revision
The opposition's latest push comes days after The Indian Express reported internal differences within the Election Commission, claiming that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had formally raised objections at least 14 times over the past 10 months, including over the SIR of electoral rolls.
Last week, the INDIA bloc finalised a joint action plan over the SIR issue, including rallies and "Save Democracy" marches.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation said entry and exit at six metro stations would remain closed from 6am to 4pm on Monday ahead of the planned march.
The affected stations are Patel Chowk, Janpath, Rajiv Chowk, Mandi House, Central Secretariat and Barakhamba Road, according to a post by the corporation on X.