'Will keep fighting until Gyanesh Kumar goes': INDIA bloc marches to Ramlila Maidan

Top leaders of the INDIA bloc, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Akhilesh Yadav, and Mamata Banerjee, launched a scathing attack on the Election Commission and the BJP during a mega rally in Delhi.

The INDIA bloc marched Sunday from the Minto Road-Connaught Place junction to Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, where it held a mega rally against alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and demanded the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

The Congress-led rally was organised over the Opposition's "vote chori" allegations following a report by The Indian Express.

Several INDIA bloc leaders, including Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti, addressed the rally.

The protest venue saw a large gathering of supporters and workers of INDIA bloc parties, along with their youth and student wings, who displayed placards and raised slogans against the SIR exercise and demanded Kumar's resignation.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were trying to "steal" the votes of women, youth and Dalits.

"This is a historic meeting here. And especially the attempt to steal votes of women, youth, and Dalits by Shah and Modi. We have gathered here against that... Till Gyanesh Kumar does not go, we will keep fighting," Kharge said.

He alleged that Modi was "trying to divide people" and "steal votes", adding, "He selects voters, people don't select him."

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said the BJP was realising that its own supporters could also be affected by alleged deletions from electoral rolls.

"I'm seeing the voice being raised in Ramlila Maidan. And since the announcement was made that we'll gather here... Since then I've heard that they also want to join us. In UP today, when this rally was happening here, it was said by BJP in UP that 1.27 crore Hindu votes were deleted. It is because of the INDIA bloc's voice that BJP is now realising that their votes are also being cut," SP chief said.

"Those who would claim that it is a double engine government, I'm happy that the people of Kashi have given them a double zero," Yadav added.

"BJP wants only its members to be voters and citizens of India," Yadav said.

Akhilesh ended his speech by saying, "Those who did vote chori, chanda chori and chadhawa chori will be finished."

TMC chief Mamata Banerjee

TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee alleged that Bengal was a "victim of the SIR" and said her party would oppose the exercise.

"Bengal is the victim of the SIR. We will not let it be. They looted Bengal; we will bring back democracy from Delhi... They looted democracy, rights, elections. Gyanesh Kumar ji, you just didn't disappear votes. You hijacked the counting centrally," Mamata said.

"We didn't lose; we were made to lose. We will take revenge through politics," she added.

Mamata also appealed to the judiciary and media to take an active part in saving democracy.

JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah

JKNC chief Farooq Abdullah said Muslims had contributed to the country and would continue to do so

"These people raise fingers at Muslims saying they are Pakistani. I would like to tell BJP and RSS that we have given blood to this country and will continue to do so," Abdullah said.

PDP's Mehbooba Mufti

PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti urged people to act against what she described as threats to democracy.

"Seeing all the people here, you all want to change the problems of the country. If you don't change it now, it'll be too late... This government has sold the country's assets to a businessman... How can they talk about Hindutva when they've stolen donations from Lord Ram," Mufti said.

RJD'S Tejashwi Yadav

RJD'S Tejashwi Yadav said, "Generally this ground is for Ramayana. But today we are doing Mahabharat here. If Shakuni is playing his game today, then we have to make this Kurukshetra. This Gyanu (CEC Gyanesh Kumar) is a puppet of Modi."