New Delhi, 06 October (H.S.): The “Save Democracy March” by 19 opposition parties of the INDIA bloc in Delhi on Tuesday turned into a major protest as the opposition remained determined to march to the Election Commission headquarters demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Police stopped the opposition leaders marching from Parliament towards the Election Commission at several points. Following this, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reached the Akashvani Bhavan complex and staged a sit-in. Both leaders said they would continue the protest until they were allowed to proceed to the Election Commission offic

The opposition leaders had begun their march from the New Parliament Building area towards the Election Commission office. However, heavy security arrangements and barricading prevented the procession from moving forward. During the protest, Rahul Gandhi climbed onto the barricades carrying the national flag and was seen leading the protesting MPs.

After being stopped by the police, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and several other leaders reached the Akashvani Bhavan complex, where they staged a sit-in for nearly two hours. Akashvani Bhavan is located around 270 metres from the Election Commission headquarters. Meanwhile, workers of the Congress and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) also reached the spot. Some protesters climbed onto the gates and buses in the complex, prompting the police to take action to remove them.

In view of the situation, additional personnel from the Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force (RAF) and other security agencies were deployed in the area. The areas around Akashvani Bhavan and the Election Commission headquarters were monitored by drones. Restrictions under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) were also imposed in the area.

Several opposition leaders were detained during the protest, including Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O’Brien and Abhishek Banerjee. They were later taken away in buses. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and some other leaders were also detained for a brief period before being released.

Leading the protest, Rahul Gandhi shared a video on the social media platform X, saying that the opposition wanted to discuss the alleged issue of “vote theft” with the Election Commission. He said elected representatives were being prevented from raising questions concerning people’s rights.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking to reporters, alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party was taking away people’s rights and influencing the electoral process in order to remain in power.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said that if the Chief Election Commissioner was impartial, he should listen to the opposition. He said the struggle was aimed at saving democracy and that the police treatment of the protesters was not appropriate.

Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav also opposed the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, saying that the opposition had opposed it from the beginning and that the movement would continue until the Chief Election Commissioner was removed. During the protest, Samajwadi Party MP Jaya Bachchan also arrived carrying a poster highlighting issues concerning PDA (Backward Classes, Dalits and minorities) voters. She alleged that the SIR process could have a greater impact on voters belonging to these communities.

During the protest, the INDIA bloc put forward five key demands as part of its campaign. These included the resignation of the Chief Election Commissioner, complete transparency in the electoral rolls, a halt to the SIR process, restoration of the ballot-paper system for elections, and unity among opposition parties on the issue of transparency in the electoral process. The opposition has expressed apprehension that the names of a large number of voters could be deleted from the electoral rolls and has demanded that the voter list preceding the SIR be used as the basis for future elections. Opposition leaders also expressed their desire to meet President Droupadi Murmu.

It may be recalled that the call for the protest was issued at a meeting of the INDIA bloc held on September 30, where the parties decided to launch a joint movement over issues concerning the Election Commission and the SIR process.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar