INDIA bloc march reaches Supreme Court
A large crowd carrying flags and posters moved through central Delhi towards the Supreme Court along a heavily barricaded route. The march went via Barakhamba Road, crossed police barriers at Bhagwan Dass Road and reached the court, where leaders filed a plea alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR exercise.
The petition named the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi as parties. It was filed by Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Raut, D Raja, Mahua Majhi, M A Baby and E T Mohammed Basheer. Later in the evening, Gandhi and Kharge, along with other INDIA bloc leaders, went to the Supreme Court to sign certain documents linked to the petition. Kharge later said on X, "The fight against vote theft will continue. INDIA’s battle will go on. The sea of people stands witness, Modi-Shah’s accountability will be fixed for sure!"
Opposition leaders had said they wanted to submit a memorandum to the CJI seeking an end to "vote chori", Kumar’s resignation, a halt to the SIR of electoral rolls and a return to the paper ballot format. As police stopped the march at Bhagwan Dass Road, several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Tejashwi Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, climbed on top of a vehicle before the procession moved ahead. Protesters raised slogans against the government and CEC Kumar.
Rahul Gandhi attacks CEC, BJP calls march theatrics
At a press conference earlier in the day, Rahul Gandhi announced the march and the decision to file a petition after the CJI declined a meeting request from the LoPs. He asked Kumar to "turn approver" and resign, saying the opposition’s fight was against "the bigger powers" behind him. "Resign, turn approver; you (Kumar) have made a mistake, but you are not the mind behind the mistake," he said. "We know Gyanesh Kumar is unable to sleep at night; I am telling him directly, ‘you will not survive as CEC’," Gandhi said. He also claimed that 200 government officers were in touch with the opposition and were sharing information.
The protest came after Delhi Police denotified Jantar Mantar as a designated protest site and named Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as new places for demonstrations. The Congress called it a sign of "panic" and said it had become a matter of "demokursi".
The BJP called the march "pure theatrics". Union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said, "To gain power, the Congress sometimes rely on the Left, sometimes on cockroaches, and sometimes on the anti-national forces like George Soros and others. This shows just how low Rahul Gandhi and the Congress have stooped." With the march, the petition and the registration of two FIRs, the battle over the revision of electoral rolls and the charge of "vote chori" moved from the streets of Delhi to the Supreme Court on Monday.