‘President sought proof, we are ready with it’: Rahul Gandhi after INDIA bloc meeting

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said President Droupadi Murmu had sought evidence concerning the Opposition's allegations against the Election Commission and asserted that the INDIA bloc was prepared to furnish it, following a meeting at Rashtrapati Bhavan over alleged irregularities in the revision of electoral rolls.

"President sought proof. We are ready with it," Gandhi said after the meeting, signalling that the Opposition would press ahead with its campaign against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

A delegation of INDIA bloc leaders, including Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, met Murmu on Friday evening and submitted a memorandum demanding Kumar's resignation, the scrapping of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the restoration of 13 crore voters whom the Opposition claims were excluded from draft electoral lists.

The allegation concerning the exclusion of voters has not been independently established, and the Election Commission has rejected accusations of electoral manipulation.

Rahul intensifies attack

Gandhi's remarks after the presidential meeting followed an unusually sharp attack on the government earlier in the evening, when he told INDIA bloc MPs that the controversy extended far beyond the Chief Election Commissioner.

"There is a much deeper problem than Gyanesh Kumar and it requires termination of this current government," Gandhi said while addressing Opposition leaders at the Central Hall of Parliament.

Claiming that four days of demonstrations had shaken the government's foundations, he urged Opposition MPs to sustain the agitation.

"If we continue to push the way we have in last three-four days, I guarantee this government will fall," the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha asserted.

Gandhi also criticised Kumar for allegedly refusing to meet elected representatives, questioning the Chief Election Commissioner's accountability to the democratic process.

Kharge accuses government of fear

Kharge accused the government of attempting to suppress public demonstrations through sweeping security restrictions, including the closure of Metro stations and cancellation of railway services ahead of Saturday's proposed protest at Jantar Mantar.

"A person who is afraid will die tomorrow, if not today," he said, attacking the government's response to the protests.

Kharge also alleged that Kumar's decisions had created widespread apprehension and threatened democratic institutions.

"The mistakes committed by Gyanesh Kumar have created a situation of fear in the country and put democracy in danger," he told reporters before the delegation met the President.

Opposition alleges institutional collusion

RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha accused the Election Commission of shielding what the Opposition described as systemic electoral wrongdoing.

Speaking before the march to Rashtrapati Bhavan, Jha said the alliance wanted to dismantle what he called an institutional structure of dishonesty, alleging that Kumar was protecting it.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi defended the demonstrations, saying citizens participating in the movement were seeking to strengthen democracy regardless of their political affiliations.

The memorandum submitted to the President was signed by representatives of 16 Opposition parties. Around 150 MPs and leaders had assembled in Parliament before marching towards Rashtrapati Bhavan.

While a smaller delegation met Murmu, other Opposition lawmakers staged a sit-in at Kartavya Path, raising slogans accusing the Election Commission and the BJP-led government of collusion.

BJP dismisses charges

The BJP rejected the Opposition's allegations, accusing the INDIA bloc of questioning constitutional institutions rather than examining its electoral performance.

BJP president J P Nadda cited the NDA's victories in recent parliamentary and Assembly by-elections as evidence of public support for the ruling alliance. He described the Opposition's criticism of the Election Commission as political frustration.

The Election Commission has maintained that its decisions follow established legal procedures and has denied allegations of electoral manipulation.

Opposition presses four demands

Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien said the memorandum submitted to Murmu contained four demands, including Kumar's removal, an end to the SIR exercise, restoration of ballot-paper voting and a review of elections held during the preceding two years.

Separately, the Opposition demanded the restoration of voters it alleged had been excluded from draft rolls.

The meeting followed four days of protests in Delhi, during which Opposition leaders attempted to march towards the Election Commission headquarters and Jantar Mantar before staging demonstrations at Rajghat and Kartavya Path.

Gandhi's assertion that the President had sought evidence became the principal development following Friday's meeting, with the Opposition indicating that it was prepared to substantiate its accusations against the poll panel.

The precise nature of the evidence sought and any further directions issued by the President were not immediately available.