Opposition INDIA bloc MPs marched towards the Election Commission office on Tuesday but got stopped near NITI Aayog. Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and others staged a sit-in protest after police blocked their path. Rahul Gandhi said, "It was done and time to resign," targeting the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
INDIA bloc march to EC stopped near NITI Aayog; Rahul, Priyanka stage sit-in
Opposition INDIA bloc MPs, led by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, climbed onto heavy iron barricades near the NITI Aayog office on Tuesday, waving the national flag, as Delhi Police tried to stop their march towards the Election Commission of India headquarters, Nirvachan Sadan.
Samajwadi Party MP Zia-ur-Rehman Barq and other MPs were also seen on top of the barriers. The marchers shouted slogans demanding the resignations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. After being halted, the MPs sat in protest near the NITI Aayog building. Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and NCP-SP MP Supriya Sule were among those who joined the march.
Rahul Gandhi took a swipe at the CEC on X, telling him it was done and time to resign.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the government was taking away people's rights and that universal adult franchise, won after Independence, was under threat. He alleged that the Election Commission was acting at the government's behest.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav accused the poll body of enabling large-scale deletion of voters and said the BJP was frightened of the opposition's demand for transparency, which he said explained the barricades.
He challenged Kumar to appear and explain alleged irregularities in Uttar Pradesh's rolls, including forged signatures in the name of one Nandlal Nishad and around 100 forms allegedly filed in the name of one Dashrath. Yadav said rules bar more than five deletions or Form-7 applications by one person, yet over 100 forms were filed, and claimed the Samajwadis had caught the matter red-handed.
He also alleged that the Commission had ignored misconduct in earlier assembly and parliamentary elections.
Senior Congress leader and former Union Minister P Chidambaram said the Chief Justice of India had stated in open court that the Supreme Court had not approved any changes to Form 6, a remark he said was on public record and witnessed by several lawyers.
He rejected the BJP's defence of the Commission and argued that the revised paperwork he had examined amounted to an addition to Form 6, which in effect is a modification.
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