INDIA bloc leaders plan march to Rashtrapati Bhavan to demand Chief Election Commissioner resignation

The INDIA bloc will march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday to meet President Droupadi Murmu, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over issues connected to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The delegation is scheduled to include Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Rajya Sabha LoP Mallikarjun Kharge, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, and CPM’s MA Baby. An INDIA bloc source stated that all MPs will assemble at Parliament at 5 pm following a confirmed appointment with the President. Earlier, opposition sources had indicated plans to march and demonstrate at Rashtrapati Bhavan if an appointment was not secured.

The presidential meeting marks the culmination of four consecutive days of opposition demonstrations in the national capital against the Chief Election Commissioner. On Tuesday, a planned march to the Election Commission was blocked, prompting a sit-in by Rahul Gandhi and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Akashvani Bhavan. Subsequent protests included a march from Janpath to Jantar Mantar on Wednesday and a demonstration at Rajghat on Thursday following a meeting at Connaught Place. Both earlier protests resulted in the detention of opposition leaders.

This four-day agitation has coincided with heightened security measures across Delhi ahead of a planned protest by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) at Jantar Mantar on Saturday. Authorities have cancelled trains, closed metro stations, and directed hotels not to accommodate suspicious visitors.

The security arrangements drew sharp criticism from opposition figures. CPM leader John Brittas took to X to condemn the measures, stating that cancelling Delhi-bound trains and shutting down metro services were heavy-handed actions that throttled legitimate protest and amounted to a systematic assault on civil liberties. Senior Advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal has also raised the matter in the Supreme Court.

While the Congress party has scheduled a ‘Chhatron ki Goonj’ gathering in Chennai for Saturday with Rahul Gandhi in attendance, and distanced itself from the CJP activities by noting it raised election and paper leak issues earlier, other INDIA bloc members may attend the Jantar Mantar gathering.