PTI
New Delhi
The raging protests over “vote chori” charge reached the Supreme Court’s doorstep on Monday as Opposition stalwarts, joined by activists and civil society members, undertook a ‘March for Democracy’ on a heavily barricaded route and filed a joint petition against Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and alleged poll irregularities, in a major show of strength in the national capital.
A mammoth crowd carrying flags and posters descended on central Delhi’s Connaught Place, with Leaders of Opposition (LoPs) in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge among those who joined the march.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee, CPI’s D Raja, CPI-M leader M A Baby, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, besides NCP-SCP leader Supriya Sule were also among those who joined the march.
They passed through Barakhamba Road, crossed police barriers at Bhagwan Dass Road and reached the Supreme Court, where the Opposition leaders filed a joint plea over alleged large-scale voter deletions and irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls.
The petition has made the Election Commission of India, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and other Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi parties in the case.
“The fight against vote theft will continue. INDIA’s battle will go on. The sea of people stands witness, Modi-Shah’s accountability will be fixed for sure!” Kharge later said on X.
The development came a day after the Chief Justice of India declined a request for a meeting with the LoPs on the issue, saying the matter is sub judice.
The “doors of the Supreme Court are open for everybody,” whether a commoner or a lawmaker, CJI Surya Kant said at an event before the Monday march, when he was asked how the Opposition leaders can put forth their grievances.
Opposition leaders had said they wanted to hand over a memorandum to the CJI demanding an end to vote chori, CEC Kumar’s resignation, halting of the SIR of electoral rolls and switching back to the paper ballot format.
As police stopped the march at Bhagwan Dass Road, several leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Tejashwi Yadav and Akhilesh Yadav, climbed atop a vehicle and the procession moved forward after crossing the barricades, with supporters cheering and waving flags. In a charged atmosphere, leaders and their supporters raised slogans against the government, CEC Kumar and asserted that “vote chori” and SIR exercise would not be allowed.
Chief ministers and senior leaders jostled for space in the protest march, while employees of firms along the Barakhamba Road took pictures and videos of the energetic and vociferous gathering.
Several youth also joined the protest wearing Batman masks and costumes. Protesters also spray-painted anti-government slogans, including “Modi Must Go”, on the pavements. A large number of lawyers also joined the march.
At Mandi House roundabout, protesters wrote slogans against Modi, the RSS and CEC Kumar on the road. A large number of supporters had already reached the Barakhamba Road junction at Connaught Place, from where they marched a few kilometres towards the Supreme Court with Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading the protesters along with AISA chief Neha Bora.
Shiv Sena-UBT leader Sanjay Raut, CPI-ML leader Dipankar Bhattacharya, JMM’s Mahua Majhi and IUML leader E T Mohammed Basheer were among those present, besides Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy (all from Congress).
Congress MPs Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot and Mukul Wasnik and TMC leader Sagarika Ghosh joined the protest, besides activists Yogendra Yadav and Nandita Narayan.
The INDIA bloc leaders, along with a large number of supporters and activists, earlier converged at the Constitution Club and headed towards Barakhamba Road junction to join the march to the Supreme Court in four air-conditioned buses. They slowly headed towards Barakhamba Road junction, from where they started their march to the Supreme Court, to highlight the issue of “vote chori” and against the prohibitory measures imposed by the government to stop them from holding demonstrations.
The plea was filed by Rahul Gandhi, Kharge, Trinamool Congress Party (TMC) MP Saugata Roy, Akhilesh Yadav, Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, Sule, Raut, D Raja, Mahua Majhi, Baby and Basheer. Later in the evening, Gandhi and Kharge, accompanied by other INDIA bloc leaders, reached the Supreme Court to sign certain documents related to their petition.
