Mallikarjun Kharge alleges ‘undeclared Emergency’ as Opposition plans meeting with CJI

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has accused the Narendra Modi government of imposing an “undeclared Emergency” following the detention of thousands of protesters and Opposition leaders in Delhi on Saturday. The Opposition has sought a meeting with Chief Justice of India (CJI) on Monday evening to raise concerns over the police action and alleged restrictions on democratic rights.

Kharge said he, Lok Sabha leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other Opposition leaders would place their concerns before the CJI and seek judicial intervention. The meeting has been sought between 4pm and 5pm on Monday.

“The Prime Minister and the home minister have created chaos across the country. An undeclared Emergency is prevailing, and we will continue to fight against it,” Kharge said on Sunday.

The confrontation follows a demonstration called by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Saturday, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged voter-roll irregularities. Delhi witnessed extensive security deployment, restrictions on movement and mobile internet shutdowns at several locations as authorities sought to prevent protesters from reaching the designated venue.

Opposition leaders detained as Delhi sees heavy security deployment

More than 2,000 people were detained during Saturday’s crackdown, with Delhi Police putting the figure at nearly 2,500. Among them were CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke and the party’s co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka, who were detained after their flight landed at Delhi airport.

The CJP described the action as an attempt to “cripple the leadership” of a peaceful demonstration before it could reach the protest venue. Delhi Police, however, said the detentions of the party leaders were precautionary measures intended to maintain law and order.

Several Opposition leaders who attempted to join the protest were also detained. They included former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and former Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar. Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary MA Baby and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya were also among those detained.

The scale of the security deployment became a central point of Kharge’s criticism. He said nearly 32,000 police personnel and 7,500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel had been deployed across the capital on Saturday.

“Yesterday, nearly 32,000 police personnel and 7,500 CRPF personnel were deployed. This itself shows how much fear the government has of the youth agitation,” Kharge said.

The combined deployment amounted to approximately 39,500 personnel. With nearly 2,500 people detained, the figures translate to roughly one detention for every 16 personnel deployed, although the ratio does not indicate how personnel were distributed across different locations or duties.

Kharge alleges restrictions on movement and communication

Kharge also accused the authorities of disrupting everyday life in Delhi through road closures, restrictions on access to the airport and mobile network shutdowns.

“As I have already stated, roads were blocked, communication channels were disrupted, access to the airport was restricted, and mobile networks were shut down. All this demonstrates that the government does not want democracy to function peacefully in India,” he said.

The security measures came as CJP supporters sought to demonstrate against alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and demand the chief election commissioner’s resignation.

On Sunday, an executive magistrate court released Dipke, Das and Ranka on the condition that they would not breach the peace for one year. Although the party had vowed to continue its agitation, the turnout remained small amid the continuing security presence in the capital.

Rahul Gandhi says Congress and INDIA bloc will continue protests

Rahul Gandhi also criticised the police action, accusing Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s Delhi Police of behaving like “thugs”. He alleged that workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were being encouraged to attack women and young protesters.

Gandhi said anger among Generation Z and students would intensify with every act of suppression. He challenged Shah to deploy 10,000, 20,000 or even 40,000 police personnel on the streets, referring to the scale of the deployment cited by Kharge.

“We are not the ones to get scared. We are not the ones to back down. This fight is not going to stop now!” Gandhi said.

He announced that the Congress, the INDIA bloc and young people would return to the streets on Monday. Gandhi also confirmed that Opposition leaders intended to meet the CJI to raise concerns about the treatment of protesters and what they described as an erosion of constitutional protections.

“On Monday, we will also meet the Chief Justice and demand that when the Constitution is being torn to shreds on Delhi’s streets and democracy is being crushed, the guardians of the law cannot sit with blindfolds on,” he said.

Kharge said the Opposition did not intend to make demands of the CJI but would present its concerns and request his intervention.

“We cannot demand anything from him, but we will place our concerns before him with folded hands and request his intervention,” he said.

Election Commission independence questioned

Kharge also questioned the functioning and independence of the Election Commission of India (ECI), arguing that the constitutional body was not being allowed to exercise its authority independently.

“The Election Commission is a constitutional body. It is an independent institution and has the authority to make decisions independently. However, it is not being allowed to make decisions independently,” he said.

He claimed that two members of the Commission had publicly raised concerns about its functioning, alleged irregularities and the views of its own members, but that no action had followed.

Kharge’s criticism extended to the 2023 law governing the appointment and service conditions of the chief election commissioner and election commissioners. The legislation replaced the Chief Justice of India on the selection panel with a Union minister and provides legal protection to election officials for acts carried out in the course of their official duties.

“After providing this protection, the entire process of vote theft, EVM manipulation, and electoral fraud was set in motion. No matter how many mistakes the CEC makes, they have been granted lifelong immunity from accountability for those mistakes,” Kharge alleged.

The Election Commission has previously rejected allegations of vote theft. The Centre and the BJP had not immediately responded to Kharge’s latest remarks in reports available on Sunday.

CJI meeting puts judiciary at centre of political confrontation

The proposed meeting on Monday is set to bring the judiciary into a widening confrontation between the Opposition and the government over electoral processes, the right to protest and the conduct of law enforcement agencies.

The detention of political leaders from West Bengal, Delhi, Kerala and Tripura, alongside representatives of Left parties and the CJP, has given the Opposition a common grievance to take into the coming week.

Kharge maintained that the Congress would continue its campaign regardless of the outcome of the meeting.

“We will continue our fight to protect democracy and the constitutional rights of the people,” he said.