INDIA bloc heads to Rajghat as Kharge hosts second lunch for Oppn MPs

Rahul Gandhi and other MPs intensify their protest, accusing the authorities of using police action to suppress dissent.

INDIA bloc leaders hold a second consecutive lunch meeting as protests demanding CEC Gyanesh Kumar's resignation enter their third day.

Opposition leaders say requests for meetings with President Droupadi Murmu and the election commissioners remain unanswered or have been denied.

Rahul Gandhi and other MPs intensify their protest, accusing the authorities of using police action to suppress dissent.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday, 8 October hosted a lunch for INDIA bloc MPs and leaders at a restaurant in Delhi's Connaught Place, ahead of their planned march to Rajghat to protest against chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

It was the second consecutive day that the Congress hosted a lunch for Opposition MPs demanding Kumar's resignation.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), which was absent on Wednesday, attended Thursday's gathering. The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar), both missing the previous day, were also represented.

Besides Kharge and Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, several Congress MPs attended the lunch at Moets in the Outer Circle of Connaught Place. They included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal, Jairam Ramesh, Vivek Tankha, Manickam Tagore, Jothimani, Rajiv Shukla and Deepender Hooda.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy were also present.

.Will not stop protest until Gyanesh Kumar resigns: Rahul. Among other Opposition leaders at the gathering were Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Abhishek Banerjee, Menaka Guruswamy, Samirul Islam, and former TMC MP Saket Gokhale; SP MPs Rajeev Rai and Mohibbullah; CPI(M) MP John Brittas; CPI's P. Sandosh; and RJD MP Sudhakar Singh.

The back-to-back meetings come as the Opposition's campaign against Kumar gathers momentum. On Wednesday, Gandhi climbed police barricades erected to prevent the MPs from marching, while other INDIA bloc leaders engaged in confrontations with security personnel.

Thursday marked the third consecutive day of protests by senior Opposition leaders in the national capital.

Congress general-secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal said the Opposition had sought an appointment with President Droupadi Murmu but was yet to receive a response.

.No permission needed for 10 Oct protest: CJP, Left students' unions . "The first request letter was sent on 2 October. Then Rashtrapati Bhavan office intimated us to give us names. After that, on the 5th, we gave a request again with the names also, with all INDIA alliance leaders. Basically, we asked for an appointment for the 7th, the 8th, the 9th. Today is 8th. We will wait for tomorrow also... So far there is no response," he said.

Congress MP Deepender Hooda said the Opposition had also sought permission to meet the election commissioners but had been denied access.

"We were not even allowed to sit at Jantar Mantar. You saw the brutality by the police. This is the game being played, where the authoritarian forces in power want to suppress the voice of the people. Elections are being held in the country in collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission, and we will not allow this to happen. This struggle will continue," he said.

. Congress MP Jothimani condemned the police action against Opposition leaders, saying that dragging the Leader of Opposition through the streets and assaulting women amounted to anarchy. "We are actually defending the country against Modi's anarchy," she said.

RJD MP Sudhakar Singh said the "fight for justice" would continue until Kumar resigned. SP MP Rajeev Rai said he had been in hospital on Wednesday and was therefore unable to join the protest.

Asked about the Opposition's second consecutive lunch meeting, Brittas said the agitation would continue. "This is a perpetual agitation. Until Gyanesh Kumar puts in his papers, we will continue to protest," he said.

Gandhi had earlier asserted that the Opposition would not call off its protests until Kumar resigned. "This is a fight to protect the most sacred thing in this country. There is nothing that Narendra Modi and Amit Shah can do that will stop us," he said.

. Wednesday's protest witnessed several dramatic scenes during a nearly three-hour bus procession and an impromptu sit-in at the roundabout outside the Shangri-La hotel. Security personnel stopped the Opposition MPs from proceeding, prompting confrontations.

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra lay flat on her back on the road, clutching a copy of the Constitution, while Rahul Gandhi resisted police attempts to put him inside a van for detention. Other INDIA bloc leaders jostled with security personnel as officers attempted to detain them.

The protests began on Tuesday, when INDIA bloc MPs marched from Parliament and Gandhi staged an eight-hour sit-in at Akashvani Bhawan. On Wednesday, the agitation shifted to nearby Jantar Mantar, where Opposition leaders again confronted the authorities over their demand for Kumar's resignation.

With PTI inputs

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