In show of strength, opposition leaders march to Supreme Court, file plea on poll 'irregularities'

In a major show of Opposition unity, INDIA bloc leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Mamata Banerjee and Akhilesh Yadav, led hundreds of supporters and activists on a heavily barricaded march to the Supreme Court on Monday and filed a joint petition alleging large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

The "March for Democracy", which witnessed confrontations with police barricades and slogans against the government and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, marked another escalation in the Opposition's campaign over its allegations of "vote chori", or vote theft.

The march came a day after Chief Justice of India Surya Kant declined a request from the Leaders of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha for a meeting, citing the pendency of related matters before the Supreme Court.

The Opposition leaders had sought to submit a memorandum demanding an end to alleged electoral irregularities, Kumar's resignation, suspension of the SIR exercise and restoration of voting through paper ballots.

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝘀

The march began after Opposition leaders and their supporters assembled at the Constitution Club before travelling in four air-conditioned buses towards the Barakhamba Road junction near Connaught Place.

From there, the protesters began walking towards the Supreme Court, with Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and All India Students' Association (AISA) chief Neha Bora among those leading the procession.

As police stopped the march at Bhagwan Dass Road, several senior leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, climbed atop a vehicle.

The procession subsequently moved forward after crossing police barricades, with supporters waving party flags and raising slogans against the government, the Election Commission and the ongoing SIR exercise.

The protesters asserted that alleged vote theft would not be allowed and demanded accountability from the Chief Election Commissioner.

𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆

The demonstration brought together senior leaders from several Opposition parties, including Congress president and Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, CPI leader D Raja, CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby, NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, CPI(ML) leader Dipankar Bhattacharya and Indian Union Muslim League leader E T Mohammed Basheer.

Three Congress chief ministers — Karnataka's D K Shivakumar, Himachal Pradesh's Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana's A Revanth Reddy — also participated, along with party MPs Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot and Mukul Wasnik.

TMC leader Sagarika Ghosh, political activist Yogendra Yadav and academic Nandita Narayan were among those who joined the demonstration.

The participation of leaders from multiple parties came amid an intensifying political confrontation over the Election Commission's conduct of electoral roll revisions.

𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝗖

Following the march, the Opposition leaders filed a joint petition in the Supreme Court challenging alleged irregularities in the SIR exercise, including large-scale deletions of voters' names.

The petition followed the Chief Justice's decision not to grant Gandhi and Kharge a personal meeting to receive their memorandum.

According to the Opposition, the revision process has raised serious concerns about the protection of eligible voters' rights and the transparency of electoral procedures.

The leaders have demanded judicial scrutiny of the alleged deletions and action against Kumar, whom they accuse of failing to safeguard the integrity of electoral rolls.

The allegations remain contested and are subject to judicial examination.

𝗥𝗮𝗵𝘂𝗹 𝘂𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗘𝗖 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻

Earlier, addressing a press conference at the Congress headquarters, Indira Bhawan, Gandhi launched an attack on Kumar, urging him to resign and become an approver in the alleged electoral irregularities.

"Resign, turn approver; you have made a mistake, but you are not the mind behind the mistake," Gandhi said, alleging that more powerful figures were responsible for the decisions being questioned by the Opposition.

He also claimed that approximately 200 government officers were in contact with Opposition leaders and providing information about alleged irregularities.

The Congress leader maintained that the agitation would continue regardless of how long it took to achieve its objectives. He said earlier resistance had not developed into protests of the present scale and described the ongoing movement as a "tandav".

"This is like Shiva's dance and anyone can join Shiva's 'baraat'," he said, calling on citizens to participate in the demonstrations.

Gandhi asserted that the campaign could continue for days or even years, arguing that protecting democratic institutions required sustained public participation.

𝗝𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗱

Monday's demonstration also followed Delhi Police's decision to remove Jantar Mantar from the list of designated protest sites.

In a standing order issued on October 11, Delhi Police Commissioner Anurag Kumar identified Ramlila Maidan, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in east Delhi as the new designated venues for protests and demonstrations.

The Congress criticised the decision, accusing the government of restricting spaces for public dissent. The party described the development as evidence of political anxiety and used the expression "demokursi" to suggest that retaining power had taken precedence over democratic principles.

The police restrictions have become another point of contention between the government and Opposition parties, which argue that the right to peaceful assembly must be protected even when demonstrations are directed against constitutional authorities.

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹

The march was the latest in a series of demonstrations that began last Tuesday, when INDIA bloc leaders attempted to march from Parliament to the Election Commission but were stopped by police.

Gandhi subsequently staged an eight-hour sit-in at the Akashvani Bhawan complex. Opposition leaders later attempted to demonstrate at Jantar Mantar but were stopped and removed by police. They marched to Rajghat the following day as the confrontation continued.

The protests have also been accompanied by detentions, restrictions on movement and disruptions to public transport, drawing renewed attention to the balance between public order and the constitutional right to peaceful assembly.

𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗻 𝗘𝗖 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀

The Opposition's renewed campaign comes amid a report alleging internal differences within the Election Commission. According to the report cited by Opposition leaders, Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi recorded objections on at least 14 occasions over the past 10 months, including on matters concerning the SIR.

The Opposition has cited the reported disagreements while demanding greater transparency in the Election Commission's decision-making. The allegations of electoral manipulation, however, remain disputed, with the Election Commission and the BJP rejecting claims of political bias.

With Monday's petition, the INDIA bloc has moved its challenge into the Supreme Court while maintaining its campaign on the streets. The legal proceedings will provide a forum for examining the specific allegations concerning voter deletions and electoral roll revisions, even as the political confrontation over the Chief Election Commissioner's position continues.