New Delhi, November 1: Thousands of supporters of the opposition INDIA bloc marched through central Delhi on Sunday and gathered at Ramlila Maidan for the alliance's 'Chalo Dilli' rally, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, Reuters and PTI reported.
Source: Reuters
The march began at the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction at noon and moved towards Ramlila Maidan. PTI reported that senior leaders — among them former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and MP Abhishek Banerjee, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Baby, CPI general secretary D. Raja and CPI(ML) Liberation general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya — first gathered at Kharge's residence and then proceeded to Minto Road in an open bus.
Source: PTI via Swadesi News
The opposition alleges — an allegation the Election Commission and the ruling BJP dispute — that the SIR exercise has wrongfully removed voters' names on a vast scale. Reuters reported that the revision removed over 130 million names, and opposition leaders say the deletions fall hardest on marginalised, backward and minority communities and would benefit Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party.
Sunday's rally was the follow-through to a build-up Awaaz Punjab has reported step by step: Rahul Gandhi announced the march on Saturday, when Delhi Police sources said no permission had been sought for the Connaught Place march route; on Saturday the bloc also held a symbolic 'public impeachment' of Kumar at Kharge's residence, where Kharge read out six charges against the CEC and former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar presided; and on Saturday night police finalised a security plan for the rally ground.
Security stayed heavy through the day. IANS reported that Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) is in force across Delhi districts and that gatherings have been prohibited at key locations including Jantar Mantar and the Election Commission office. The INDIA bloc said it expected a turnout of up to 10 lakh people, while Delhi Police prepared for a gathering of around 50,000 — the capacity of Ramlila Maidan — and traffic restrictions ran in parts of central Delhi from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Source: IANS
Before the march, Gandhi appealed on X: 'Delhi, get ready! Save the Vote, Save the Nation. Come to Connaught Place, let's march together. Or meet directly at Ramlila Maidan — but you must come.' He also urged participants to buy from local traders ahead of Diwali, Chhath and Bhai Dooj so the protest did not hurt small businesses. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut described the gathering as a 'mega rally' and said the opposition would continue its agitation until the Chief Election Commissioner stepped down.
BJP leaders have dismissed the opposition's symbolic impeachment exercise as 'melodrama' and defended the constitutional protection available to the CEC. Analysts cited by Reuters say the near-daily protests since late September form the most serious political crisis for Modi since he came to power in 2014, though his government remains stable and the next general election is not due until 2029.